She Talks to Angels
by AliKat7
Summary: Parker impulsively steals something that ends up having supernatural effects on the team, bringing the Winchester brothers into their life as well as a certain angel. SPN Crossover
1. Prologue

I never expected to be inspired to do a cross-over fic. But yet, here I am. This is just the Prologue that will hopefully entice you to read more...

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If asked, Parker couldn't really explain what caught her eye about it or why she decided to 'bend' the rules a little bit to take it. But she did. Originally she thought of giving it to Eliot. He loved weapons and this was truly unique. But she knew she'd get a lecture from him about stealing things unless it was for the right reasons. Ha. Like he slept with women or picked on Hardison for the right reasons? Or if Nate found out, the look of disappointment followed immediately. Not that _he'd _ever done anything wrong, without the client in mind. Ha! She pretended not to notice that the rules never applied to him. Sophie wouldn't be the least bit interested in the short sword because as far as Parker could tell, it had no street value. She couldn't even tell what kind of metal it was.

Perhaps it was more what she didn't know about it than what she did that intrigued her so much. It was an enigma, much like her. While it was shorter than a regular sword, it _felt _more deadly. It spoke to her or sang to her in some way she couldn't explain. Something about it radiated power. Seeing it in the vault of a man who had kidnapped babies to sell on the black market, it was simply too much for Parker to resist. He didn't deserve power, of any kind. And now that he was safely in custody of Detective Captain Bonnano with enough evidence to track down the missing babies and make things right, Parker didn't have to worry about anyone noticing the mystery weapon was missing.

Until then, she'd keep this secret. And maybe, just maybe, she'd ask Hardison for help figuring out what it was. For now, she'd just place it in a safe place.

When she held it, she felt a rush unlike any other. No diamond or paper bill had made her feel this way. Not even gold bars.

It's like it was _meant_ for her.

_**xoxo**_

Eliot sat in the back of the bar nursing his beer, along with his ego. He'd slipped away from the team the second they'd arrived back at McRory's. Before they noticed he was gone, he probably was ordering his first beer. It's not that they didn't pay attention so much as it was that if he didn't want to be seen, he wasn't seen. And right now, he didn't want to be seen.

The bottle was cold enough that he held it to his swelling eye for some relief. Not only his ego was bruised. But it wasn't the fact that he'd almost lost the fight that bothered him, it was the fact that he thought he saw something that got under his skin and worried him like a splinter.

Black eyes.

He shook his head to shake the vision from his mind but so far it had been the only thing he could think of since it happened: black eyes, and not in a sultry, dark-eyed, mysterious way. The woman's strength caught him off guard, her viciousness unnerved him, but the flash of black eyes chilled him to the bone. She was gone before the team had gotten back there or he would have had to deal with Hardison ragging on him for almost getting beat by a girl. But it wasn't that. He knew women, the way they smelled, the way they felt, the way they moved, all of them different yet he _knew_ them. And everything about this 'woman' seemed normal until she went for his throat with a viciousness he'd never encountered with any man. She was probably less than a buck ten but that was no _girl_. Something about her was evil and he couldn't shake that feeling.

So much so he didn't notice that he was being watched until he got up and walked from the bar, bumping into a man about his age.

"Whoa, sorry about that," the man muttered as he brushed against him acting drunk and unsteady on his feet, but Eliot felt the man's hand slip into his jacket, reaching for something.

A slight smile crossed his lips before he jerked the man's hand away, spinning him around and slamming him face first into the wall. Pinning him in place with one hand, Eliot replied, "Not a problem. But if you're going to try and lift my wallet, we're definitely going to have a problem. Especially if you do it that badly."

The man was quite a bit taller than him and solid muscle. Alert now, Eliot tensed, realizing that this was a large man and obviously skilled in some type of combat. No alcohol smell to him either. Grabbing the man by the back of his leather jacket, Eliot pushed him through the side door and into the alley, flinging him to the ground and holding him there with a firm foot to his chest.

"Now, tell me who the hell you are before I lodge my foot in your spine," he growled, seeing the man hold his hands up like he was surrendering, all the while tensing for a strike on Eliot. To remind him who held the upper hand, he shifted his weight a little, pressing down on the other man's ribs just enough to hurt.

He heard the click of a gun being cocked and spun to disarm the second man.

_**xoxo**_

"Can I buy you a drink?" The woman slid onto the stool beside Nate. She looked young, about Parker's age, with long dark hair and dark eyes. Attractive but something seemed 'off' about her.

Holding up his still full glass, he smiled. "Thank you but I got that covered."

"Perhaps you can buy me a drink then," she said softly. Her eyes drifted to his lips a few times before returning her gaze to his.

When it came to women, Nate wasn't ignorant. He knew the different between a woman trying to seduce him and a woman trying to seduce something out of him. He saw Sophie and Hardison enter the bar out of the corner of his eye and he was torn. He was rather annoyed with Sophie's comments last week about his recklessness with the team's lives and there had been coldness between them ever since. A part of him wanted to hurt her and when she noticed him at the bar with the attractive younger woman, he saw the spark of jealousy cross her eyes before she schooled her features in a complete apathy. She followed Hardison to a table behind him while the hacker talked rapidly about something while waving his hands around in an animated fashion. Most likely he hadn't noticed Nate and, if he had, he wouldn't have picked up on the tension between him and Sophie.

"Or perhaps not." The woman moved to slide off the barstool before he placed his hand on her arm.

"Forgive me. Yes, what's your poison?"

As the bartender brought her a drink, Nate listened to her discussing why she was in town. He barely focused until she excused herself.

"My hotel is nearby, if you'd like to join me for a nightcap," she muttered, her voice dropping to a sultry hum. "It might be more comfortable for both of us."

Nate studied her for a moment before nodding slowly. He had doubts, her seduction was obviously an act, but something drew him to her.

"Forgive me for being so forward. This isn't normal for me," she chuckled quietly and blushed. "I mean, I don't even know your name."

"Nathan Ford, but you can call me Nate."

"Hello Nate. I'm Meg." Despite her apologies for being forward she stood up confidently and waited for him to do the same. They walked out of McRory's and he never looked back to see if Sophie ever noticed.

But her eyes following him as he left were not the only ones he didn't notice.


	2. Chapter 1

_A/N Thanks to Dawn for the beta. :)_

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Parker stretched out her legs and propped her feet on the table, earning a warning look from Sophie. When she shrugged and didn't move, the grifter sighed loudly.

"Where are they? They've never been _this_ late before," Hardison muttered, checking his laptop screen again. "I can't seem to track either of them."

"Nate is probably otherwise engaged," Sophie murmured, her gaze dropping to the table.

She didn't elaborate, so Parker dropped her feet back on the floor and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. "But we're in his condo, well sorta, so it's not like he's too hung over to roll out of bed. What would he be otherwise engaged doing, exactly?"

"Doing 'who' would be more accurate." Sophie retorted and stood to go refill her coffee.

Glancing to Hardison, Parker mouthed the words 'what'd I miss'. Hardison leaned forward and whispered, "Nate left with a PYT last night."

She tilted her head in confusion and whispered back, "PYT?"

"Pretty. _Young_. Thing," Sophie answered coming to sit beside the pair again. "That doesn't explain where Eliot is. At least he's normally more responsible than Nate."

"A world where Eliot is considered more responsible is a lil' creepy." Hardison picked up an ear piece and tried again to find their hitter.

After a few minutes, Sophie stood up, straightened her skirt and walked toward the door. "Call me if either of them decides to show up to do their _job_." She slammed the door in her wake.

Parker and Hardison looked at each other before he resumed trying to get Nate or Eliot to answer. Finally he tossed the ear bud onto the table.

"GPS tracking on their phone is a fail. Coms are a fail. This doesn't seem right. I'm wondering if…" his voice trailed off.

"What? Someone killed them? Or maybe threw them in a dark horrible basement to torture them? Damien Moreau's people could do that. But they probably wouldn't since he's locked up and can't pay them. Ohhh maybe they're rotting in a Mexican prison! Wait, with Eliot it would probably be a Myramar prison. Or would that be Myramarian?"

"Parker!" Hardison snapped and her eyes drifted to his. "You're _not_ helping. We have a lot of enemies and there is a lot of money on Eliot's head. Not to mention the boy tends to piss people off just by his normal demeanor. He could be lying dead in an alley somewhere."

"Now you're just being paranoid and overly dramatic. If he was dead, wouldn't we know it?"

"How am I paranoid for stating the obvious? And how would we find out? Its not like dead men can return a phone call or we'd get an alert from the PD that an employee that 'doesn't exist' for a company that I work really hard to keep low key, ran out of luck or picked a fight with a bigger dude." Typing rapidly again, he continued, "I'm checking the morgue and hospitals for John Doe's."

"Is that his new alias?" she asked moving to perch on the table. Hardison shook his head in exasperation with a slight grin pulling at his lips.

**xOxO**

Eliot struggled to clear the fog from his mind as he woke up. Sensing his arms being restrained he didn't make any outward movements to show he was awake, even keeping his eyes closed. What the hell had happened? Last thing he remembered was moving to disarm the guy with a gun before the trench coat guy tapped him on his forehead. Then he was _here,_ wherever _here_ was.

"He is awake." A man's monotone voice announced before Eliot felt a splash of water thrown in his face. When he didn't move, someone forced his head back and poured some of the water down his throat before Eliot managed to spit it out and head butt the guy.

"Okay, so I guess we can rule out that he's a demon," another guy said as the second one stumbled back rubbing his forehead. Eliot glared at both of them.

"He's too fast and strong to be completely human."

"I'm Superman." Eliot smirked.

"Well that's not kryptonite rope so let's see you break free of that smartass," The other guy said with a smirk of his own. "Yeah that's what I thought 'Superman'. Nice hair by the way."

"So what's your name punk?" Eliot glanced at him, sizing him up. Not as big as the second guy but both of them were bigger than the first. How the hell did the trench-coat dude knock his ass out with a finger tap? That's not normal.

"Trust me, you won't be screaming it later."

"You know Dean, maybe we misunderstood. Maybe he doesn't know what they took." the other guy said. Eliot realized he was the younger one and seemed the less pissed off at the world. Weird since he's the one Eliot tossed around back at the bar. And head-butted. "Maybe he's innocent…"

"Never heard that one before," Eliot muttered. "But hey, let's go with that. I'm innocent. Of what I'm not sure but whatever it was, I didn't do it."

Dragging a chair backwards to place in front of him 'Dean' straddled it. "Here's how it works. We'll ask the questions. You answer them."

"Sorry Dean. I can't hear you over the sound of my hands and feet being bound to a chair."

Dean smirked. "You're clever. I normally admire that in a person. Well, if they're not an asshole or working for demons."

"You've met my boss? He's not a demon, he's just tragically misunderstood. And most likely drunk."

"Don't try to be cute…" Dean began.

"I can't help it. It comes naturally. Oh, and if I'm tied up, I get even cuter but since you're really not my type, let's just skip that part and go back to me kicking your ass." Eliot smiled and gave him a patient look. "Or I could promise I won't do it again if you untie me. Whichever one works for you."

"Dean…"

"Sam, shut up!"

"Sam and Dean?" Eliot laughed. "Is that like a boy band? And who is your skulking friend, your manager or your bodyguard?" He nodded to trench-coat dude in the back who was watching them silently.

"I'm not a manager. I only protect their bodies if they're in extreme danger. I am an Ang…"

"Cas! Both of you just shut up! Don't tell this guy anything until we find out how involved with Deniro he is."

"Deniro? Don't know him, assuming it's a him." Eliot shrugged, his wrists pulling at the ropes. He realized he was tied too tight to possibly wriggle out of this and grew concerned, but he made sure it didn't show on his face. "Can I go now?"

"He's telling the truth." This 'Cas' character quickly moved from Trench-coat Dude to Captain Obvious in Eliot's book.

"You have something that belongs to us. Well, not us, but Cas." Dean glared at him, a look which Eliot returned in kind.

"I'm sure you've searched me after you…drugged me or whatever. I don't have anything of yours."

"Oh, I'm sure you've hidden it by now. But we saw you with Deniro. We know you're working with him. You were leaving his house when we got there with that two dudes and that hot blonde. That very hot blonde who seemed to be able to bend her body in ways…." Dean's face took on a dreamy expression before he waved his hand in annoyance when Sam started to interject. When the other man looked at him, Dean mouthed the words 'Zip it'.

"It appears that you guys have me confused with someone else. It happens all the time. Why don't you just untie me and we can talk normally?" Dean rolled his eyes and Eliot smiled, realizing that Dean seemed the most like him. "You have my word that I won't kick your ass until you're finished with your questions and then I'll even let you throw the first punch. Unless you continue your train of thought about the blonde, then all bets are off, man."

"How generous! If you're such a badass, how'd you end up here, tied to a chair?" Dean stood up and walked into the kitchenette of the dumpy hotel room. "Kick my ass? I'd kick your ass back into next week before you realized it was going to happen."

"Yeah, if you leave me tied up, maybe. Untie me and we'll test it."

"Why don't we get into a pissing contest? Or I don't know, start comparing whose dick is bigger?" Sam snorted. The comment drew an odd look from Cas who opened his mouth to answer before Sam quickly interrupted before he could. "Dean, this is stupid. Cas said he isn't lying and the holy water didn't affect him so maybe he just doesn't know what they have or what Deniro is."

Eliot waited while Dean appeared to consider it.

Cas was nodding silently before he reassured Dean, "If his dick is bigger, it has no affect on his fighting abilities. In fact, the fact that he had a smaller one might force him to develop a complex that he would overcompensate for by inappropriate anger and violence."

Dean began coughing and choking on his beer, while Eliot's train of thought went from 'what to fuck' to 'oh hell no he didn't' in rapid succession. As Dean tried to breathe normally again, Eliot began plotting to show Cas exactly how inappropriate his anger could be despite his dick size, his really big dick size he might add. Seriously, he was going to fuck Captain Obvious up. After he figured out how he knocked him out with a tap of his finger. Yeah, he needed to learn counter measures _then_ he rearrange his world.

Sam shook his head in frustration and picked up a big knife on the table beside him. "Seriously Cas. You're just embarrassing us now." Eliot tensed when he stood up and leaned forward to cut the rope from Eliot's feet. Before Sam cut the ropes on his wrists, he shook the knife at Eliot and said "I'm trusting you at your word. Don't make me regret it. But if you do, Cas will just make you sleep again." Eliot waited a beat before raising his brows in impatience. Sam cut the ropes on his wrists and he pulled them forward to rub at the rope burn.

Dean grabbed another beer from the fridge and returned to his chair, popping off the lid as he went. After a moment, he held out the beer to Eliot. "So, tell us what you know about Deniro."

"I don't know anyone named Deniro. If you saw me leaving his house earlier, then you must have a different name than I do. The man we took down for trafficking babies was named John, John Winchester." Eliot noticed the angry shock on both the men's faces and tensed to move quickly.

"He's using the name John Winchester? Fucking hell!" Sam yelled and jumped up, knocking his chair over as he stormed away.

"Wait…this guy, John Winchester, had two sons." Eliot tried to recall the information Hardison had pulled up on the man last week. "Yeah, one of them was named Dean, bad dude, but supposedly he's dead. You're pretty spry for a dead guy."

"He was dead. But I brought him back from Hell." Cas had finally sat down, although Eliot didn't recall seeing him move, on the bed closest to the door.

"That's useful," Eliot furrowed his brow before returning his gaze to Dean. "Handy guy you got there. Knocks you out by touching your forehead and brings you back from Hell when you die. I need to get one of those. Where did you pick this one up? Do they have female versions?"

"Oh yes they do, they most certainly do," Dean chuckled after a moment, over an obvious inside joke. "Cas is…well, he's…"

"I'm an Angel."

Eliot watched the strange man for a moment, nodding. "Like the vampire with a soul or like a cherub?"

"No, Cherubs are what you call Cupid. I'm an angel of the Lord."

Eliot stared at him for a minute, waiting for the man to crack a smile. Taking a sip of his beer, he finally said, "Riiiiggghhhhttt. Of _course_ you are. I don't know what you drugged me with but I think you guys might have done way too many."

**xOxO**

Nate went to slide out of the bed and felt the warm body beside him shift. Turning, he found two dark eyes watching him.

"Thinking about sneaking out?" Her smile indicated it wasn't the first time she'd been to the rodeo.

"Yes, I need to get to work. Big meeting you know? If you give me your number perhaps I can buy you dinner…"

Before he knew what was happening, he was flat on his back again and she was straddling him, her smile turning wicked. "Tell you what, Nate. Why don't you just give what I want and I'll give you what _you_ want?"

Nate smiled before replying. "I thought that's what we were doing last night."

"No, that was sex," Meg said with a laugh. "You humans are all the same. You think with your dicks."

"You humans? Don't you mean you _men_?" Nate started to grow concerned when he noticed the coldness in her eyes.

Meg leaned forward placing one hand on either side of his head, staring at him. Suddenly her eyes went all black and she grinned, "No I mean you humans: you 'poor excuses for a failed experiment that walk the earth in these weak, breakable meat suits' humans. And if you're stupid enough to think what happened last night was what_** I**_ want, then you deserve what I might do to you. So I suggest you continue to impress me with your abilities to obey and tell me where I can find it."

For the first time since his son died, Nate felt bone chilling terror course through him. "I have no idea what you mean."

"Deniro had something for me and apparently you nicked it before I got the message. Now I've had to dodge an angel and two pissed off hunters, who all have a long history of annoying me, trying to find it and my patience is wearing very thin, much like your odds of surviving this. But hey, if you give me what I want without any more of the fake niceties and sweatiness of sex, which wasn't that bad to be honest just not when I have other things to do, then I'll give you a gift. Just think of it as payment. Oh, and I'll let you live too so that's two gifts. Well damn, that's like three wishes! When you throw in the sex, I'm a mother fucking genie today!" Her eyes returned to normal when she chuckled darkly.

"And what is it you think I want? Because I really don't think I have what you're looking for. I don't know anyone named Deniro…" Nate stammered and Meg sat up. She paused before getting off the bed and shaking her head at him with a little smirk.

"Okay, don't say I didn't warn you. Your genie just turned into your worst nightmare." Before Nate could even realize how terrified he needed to be, she had jerked him off the bed and thrown him across the room like she was picking lint off the bed. He crashed into the wall and fell with a thud, gasping for breath.

**xOxO**

Parker slipped from the condo, locking the door behind her. She felt uneasy and Hardison's pacing and constant attempts to find Nate and Eliot made her nervous. She moved through the hallway quietly before ducking into the stairs. Her senses alert, she knew she was alone and moved quickly to leave the building. Passing by McRory's she peeked in to see Sophie sitting at the bar nursing a drink, with no mind to the fact it wasn't even noon.

Swiftly moving through the crowd she walked through the alleys to some of the Eliot's normal haunts. He didn't know that she'd followed him regularly when she was bored. She liked to follow him because he was so alert, it was a challenge. Sophie and Nate could walk cluelessly to her presence for days. And she hadn't follow Hardison in a long time. She knew she could but something about the fact she could follow him without him noticing her really bothered her. She liked him noticing her.

After the fourth place, Parker found something that made her begin to panic. It was so small, most people wouldn't have seen it but its presence jumped out to her. She approached the item slowly, hoping against all odds she was wrong. When she crouched down beside it and picked it up, she felt dread overtake her.

A moment's pause to look around the area, her eyes returned to the small crushed ear bud and she held it to her mouth and said aloud, "Hardison, please tell me you can hear me. Please…tell me…"

Holding it to her ear, waiting to hear the comfortable voice she was used to inside her head. After a few minutes, a tear escape her eyes and rolled down her cheek as she pulled out her cell phone and began fumbling with the buttons.

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_Please review! I'd like to know what you think :) Even anonymous reviews are welcome!_


	3. Chapter 2

_A/N Thanks to Dawn for the beta!_

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Nate lay on the floor, bleeding and fighting off blackness. A small part of him prayed for death. He knew evil in his life, seen humans full of it. And he understood demons. But the demons he fought daily had been metaphorical. The fact that this being existed made him question a lot about his life.

For now, she moved on to doing something else besides torturing him. He still didn't know what she wanted but she seemed willing to go on hurting him until she got bored. Struggling, he opened his eyes. Or rather he opened his _eye_, for one was too swollen.

Meg sat on the bed smoking a cigarette and watching him. She flashed him a quick smile before crushing out her cigarette in the ashtray. "Sorry. Wouldn't want to kill you with second-hand smoke or anything, would I?"

"You'd rather beat me to death…considerate," Nate muttered under his breath. She must have heard him because she chuckled to herself.

"Much more fun that way but don't worry, I don't plan to kill you. I just wanted to be sure you knew that I could."

Standing up she walked towards him. He flinched, expecting more abuse but she crouched down and helped him sit up, leaning his back against the wall. "There. That better?" Meg sat down in front of him crossing her legs Indian style and propping her elbows on her knee. "It didn't have to be this way. I had a great offer for you before you decided to play dumb. I hate that shit."

"At the risk of starting the beating over again, I'm not playing dumb. I don't know what you want." Nate's voice a monotone, he realized how unmoved he was at the thought of death.

"Well…that sucks for you I guess." Her chuckle that seemed so seductive last night sounded cold and grated his nerves now. "I suppose I could tell you what I can do for you, Mr. Ford, and see if that will jog your memory."

Nate didn't answer her, waiting to see where she was going with it. Standing up, she walked over to her bag and pulled something from it. He watched her when she returned and tossed it down on the floor in front of him. It was a picture of his son.

"Where…" his voice tightened and he felt so enraged he managed to gather enough strength to reach up and grab her arm, jerking her down to his level. Her smirk only fueled his anger more. "Tell me where you got that, you unbelievably evil bitch. Do _not_ bring my son into this or I will make it my mission to end you."

"Oh tough guy, now you're really making me hot. I prefer it if you fight back." Twisting, she jerked him across the floor and he heard the hard crunch of bones snapping as his arm broke. He didn't scream. He wouldn't give her that satisfaction at this point. She crouched over him now, leaning close to his ear and whispering, "Or I could tell you how you could get your baby boy back."

Tears stung Nate's eyes and he drew a hesitant breath. It was the one thing he would do anything for and he was aware that she knew that. But knowing it was impossible didn't keep the hope out of his voice when he answered, "How?"

**_xOxOx_**

Dean watched Eliot from across the room. He seems to have recovered from the shock of seeing Cas' wings a lot faster than anyone expected. In fact, now he appeared bored while Sam tried to explain the demon situation with the angels. While Sam was oblivious to Eliot's manipulations of him, Dean watched the guy getting more and more information out of his brother than he comfortable with. He was tempted to shut it down but something stopped him. He wanted to get inside Eliot's head a bit and the best way to do that was let him think he had the upper hand.

"So, these angels and demons are fighting and keep bringing you guys back from hell right? But…why you? And how do you keep ending up in hell to start with? If you're 'good guys' and fighting on the side of the angels, then why are you not dying and going to _heaven_? Does this mean that there is no heaven?"

"Heaven exists. Dean made a deal with a crossroads demon to bring Sam back from the dead and Sam jumped into the pit to put Lucifer back in the cage," Cas stated in his typical matter-of-fact way causing Dean to shake his head.

"Aren't you breaking some kind of code by telling me that heaven and hell exist? Isn't it supposed to be one of the great mysteries? I suppose next you'll tell me when I'm going to die," Eliot shot back quickly. Dean noticed the level of tension in Eliot rising and knew he was about to make a move. Now did they let him 'get away' only to follow him or do they stop him? That was the question and one Dean needed to decide quickly. He sensed he only had a few moments to react.

"As it stands right now, you'll die…"

"Cas!" Sam interrupted with a glare. "You can't tell him when he's going to die just because he asked. Wait…do you know when we're going to die?"

"Die again, you mean," Eliot added with a glance at Dean, who lowered his gaze to the papers in front of him.

"Yeah…again…wait, don't tell me. That whole destiny thing caused too much trouble in the past. It's better if I go blindly into the future," Sam snorted and leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs.

Within a split second, Sam had been shoved across the room and Eliot flew over the chair towards the door. Dean held up his hand to stop Cas and allow the other man to leave, even as he pretended to be trying to stop him.

"Damnit Dean! Why didn't you stop him?" Sam finally rose to his feet, rubbing his midriff where Eliot had kicked him. "Bastard is fast and, fuck, that hurt."

"We know where he's going. He doesn't have the sword but I suspect he's going back to protect whoever does," Dean answered, shoveling the papers out of his way and throwing a bag on the desk. "Odds are, it's one of the two women I saw him with."

"I cannot find any information on them other than fake names. One changes her name as often as she changes her clothes and the other one apparently never existed until she was on a wanted list," Sam muttered, wrapping his arm around his waist and bending forward. "Okay, next time, you get to deal with Eliot."

"Nope, I get to deal with the blonde," Dean smirked. "Spencer was way too protective of her. She's the one that has it."

"She has the innocence of a child," Cas mumbled, staring into the distance. "She doesn't know what she has."

"Wait a damn minute! You _knew _she had it all along? And you didn't think to share this with us?"

It felt like a good ten minutes before Cas appeared to snap out of his thoughts and shook his head. Dean wondered where the angel went at times like these. "No, I don't know for sure. I just sensed that she…I didn't sense evil from her. If she has it, she has no idea what it would do. Her intent was pure, well, maybe not pure but…not evil."

Sam glanced over at him with his brow furrowed. His confusion let Dean know that Cas was acting weirder than normal, which was pretty fuckin' weird. He watched the angel for a moment in thought. "Cas, what else do you know that you're not telling us?"

"She's in danger and Eliot might not make it in time."

Cas disappeared and Dean threw his hands up in the arm. "Fuckin' useless angel! Why the hell don't you tell us things before you disappear on us!"

"You realize he can't hear you right?" Sam smirked and headed toward the door. "Let's double back to the bar where we found Eliot. We can work our way from there to their office."

**_xOxOx_**

"Parker, just because his com is crushed doesn't mean he's dead," Sophie said again, trying to stop her pacing back and forth. Hardison combed the area looking for anything else to suggest where Eliot was but so far had found nothing.

"This is Eliot. He has nine lives," Hardison called out. "Stop worrying. He'll show up any minute now and I'm going to have to kick his ass for freaking you out."

"You and me both," Sophie answered but Parker ignored her. Walking to the back door of the club, she jerked the handle again to see if the place was finally open. She was surprised when it gave way and she felt a blast of cold air from the club. Walking inside, she glanced around seeing no one. But she sensed she wasn't alone. The door slammed loudly behind her causing her to flinch as her eyes scanned the room, the hair on the back of her neck rising.

"Can I help you? We're not open yet," a woman's voice came from behind the bar and Parker gazed at her curiously. She was fairly sure she hadn't been there a moment before.

"I'm looking for a guy."

"Like I said, we're not open. If you come back when we are, I'm sure a pretty little thing like yourself won't leave alone." The man's voice startled her and she swung around. He must be a bouncer or some type of security judging from his size. He licked his lips subtly as he offered, "Or if you're impatient, maybe I can help you?"

Parker stepped back quickly when he reached for her, bumping into a table and knocking over some chairs. The woman coming closer warned her that something was seriously wrong here. She could hear pounding on the door and Hardison screaming her name when she sprinted toward the other door. Not putting enough distance between them, the man grabbed her shoulder and, jerking her hard, threw her flat on her back. She scrambled to get away but the man crouched over her, grasping her arms really hard.

"You smell sweet…like candy…" His eyes flashed black and Parker kicked at him, too scared to scream. Just as suddenly he was gone, with a crashing sound to her side.

"Get up!" Eliot screamed at her, heading off the man…or whatever he was…as he came after her again. When she stood up, she yelped in anguish as her arm was twisted behind her.

"Come here sweetheart. Let the boys have a little talk and you can tell me why I shouldn't rip your heart out." The woman shoving her against the wall in time to see Eliot thrown through the air and slamming into the bar. Dazed, he struggled to move but Parker's view was blocked by the woman passing in front of her. "I'll let go when you tell me where it is. Or maybe I won't…but either way, if you don't tell me, I assure you that you're going to watch your boyfriend die just to show you how serious we are." Pulling Parker in front of her, the woman wrapped her arm around Parker's neck.

Darkness surrounded Parker and she felt lightheaded. She struggled to breathe while clawing at the woman's arm. Tears filled her eyes, watching Eliot trying desperately to get to her, despite the man trying to stop him. Blackness crashed down and the last thing she heard _his_ voice.

"Leave her alone."

"Don't touch her!" Eliot warned Cas, attempting to come forward to Parker's side. The angel had coldly snapped Parker's assailant's neck before laying his hand on Parker's face.

The man who had been fighting him, stopped suddenly, threw its head back, and with a scream, a black smoke burst from his mouth, knocking Eliot to the floor. The hitter stared in stunned silence when the body crashed to the ground.

"Don't kill it. He's human again," Eliot heard Dean say when he rushed past him.

"Wait, who are you people?" Hardison yelled from the door, pushing Sophie back behind him as he made his way toward Eliot. Seeing Parker on the floor froze him in his tracks.

"He's an angel," Parker said softly, sitting up and staring at Cas, wide-eyed.

"You know?" Eliot stammered and glanced at Dean and Sam standing nearby. They looked as surprised as everyone else.

"Of course." The thief answered, not taking her gaze from the angel. "His name is Castiel. I've dreamed about him."

"Gee Cas. It'd be nice if for once you'd share with the rest of the class," Dean retorted. "Could have saved us a lot of trouble if we'd known you could visit her dreams."

"I didn't know…" Cas replied glancing away from Parker. "She's not marked. I had no idea. Unless…"

"Unless?" Sam prodded him after Cas returned to his gaze to Parker.

"Someone better tell me what the hell is going on!" Hardison watched all of them like they had been drinking the 'special Kool-aid' before suddenly Dean launched himself at his throat.

"You son of a bitch! How did you come back!" Dean knocked him down, attempting to kill him and Eliot sprung into action.

"It's not him Dean." Eliot heard Cas say repeatedly. "It's not Jake."

He continued to hit Dean while trying to keep him off Hardison. He didn't know who Jake was but apparently Dean wasn't really fond of him. Finally he got enough of a grip on the other guy to shove him away then kick him in the jaw. Dean hit the floor but came right back after him like a crazy man. Finally between Sam and Cas, they managed to keep Dean away from him. When he assured that Hardison and Sophie were both a safe distance away from the two men, Eliot began pushing them back towards Parker.

"Look, you bunch of freaks, you need to stay the fuck away from my people. Angels, demons or dead guys raised up, I don't care. Stay the fuck away from them," Eliot snapped, wiping the blood off his mouth. Glancing back quickly he watched Sophie helping Parker up then turned back around to watch the other three.

"Your 'friend' is a psycho demon-loving killer," Dean screamed and tried to pull away from Sam.

"Dude, I don't even _know_ you," Hardison shot back before Eliot glared at him.

"Dean, this is not Jake. Jake is dead," Cas repeated calmly despite Dean's struggling and cursing.

"Dead, dead? Are you sure? He looks just like Jake…" Sam glanced back and forth between the angel and Hardison. "I mean, it's possible it's him and you just..."

Cas stared at Sam blankly before he shook his head. "Sam, it's not him."

"But…"

"It's not him."

Dean finally stopped struggling and glanced uncertainly at Cas. "Are you sure?"

"Not. Him." Hardison answered, pointing to himself and rolling his eyes. "Can we get away from these insane people? I'm beginning to think the crazy is spreading and I want to be gone before it gets any worse."

"Who's Jake?" Eliot finally asked, curiosity getting the better of him. Dean was calming down and Sam appeared convinced so at least the danger of them killing the hacker was over.

At least, it was over for _now_.

"The man that killed Sam," Dean answered coldly.

"The first time you mean?" Eliot ignored Hardison's expression of 'are you stupid?'

"Yes, the first time."

"Are you all finished being barbarians now? Can someone please tell me what is going on and where Nate is?" Sophie asked, a tear rolling down her cheek. She had her arm around Parker protectively and Eliot felt instant guilt, seeing her sheer terror.

"Sophie, it's a long story. Let's get you and Parker back to the condo and…" Stopping suddenly mid-sentence looked at Hardison then back at her. "What do you mean about Nate? Where is he?"

**_xOxOx_**

* * *

_Please review. Comments are love 3_


	4. Chapter 3

_A/N: Thanks to Dawn for the beta :)_

* * *

Sensing eyes on him, Eliot looked up to find Dean smirking at him. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "What?"

"You're bleeding a little bit there champ," the hunter replied with a big grin.

"Ya think?" Eliot shot back, trying to get the bleeding to stop. He had pulled a chunk of broken glass out of his arm a few minutes ago to have blood start gushing from it.

"Aww I'm sorry. Want me to get you a band-aid?" Dean asked, attempting to look very sympathetic. Eliot wanted to smack the guy already, now he was just pushing his buttons. Suddenly it dawned on him that Dean wasn't bleeding or even hurt. And he _had_ been.

"Fuck you. You mean the angel can heal you up too? And you never thought to mention that?" Jumping off the bar stool, Eliot pushed Dean from his when he walked over to Cas and waited a few minutes while the angel stared at Parker. The two had been staring at each other since they got back to McRory's though and he was starting to drip blood on his boots so he cleared his throat loudly. Cas turned wide eyes to him and returned his impatient look with a blank look of his own.

"Do it." Eliot waved his hand over his wound. When the angel didn't reply, he growled, "Dude, just make it stop bleeding and I'll leave you alone to go back to staring at her."

If looks could kill, Hardison's expression would have killed him on the spot but Cas touched him and he glanced down to see his wound had completely healed.

"Do that again!" Parker squealed. "His mouth is bleeding too." Her eyes were wide and she had the typical goofy expression.

Without asking Eliot, Cas touched his mouth. Parker's expression made it clear that he had healed that as well.

"Can you heal the scars on his face too?" Parker started showing Cas Eliot's scars before the hitter grabbed her hand. With a glare, he turned around and walked away. He reached over the bar to grab a bottle of whiskey. He didn't care what time it was, he needed a drink.

Dean grabbed a glass and shoved it toward him. After pouring both of them a hefty glass, he resumed his position on the stool. His gaze wandered the room while he drank. Sam seemed to be trying to comfort Sophie at the same time he and Hardison were both typing away on laptops. Cas and Parker were talking softly.

"You're worried about her," Dean observed, leaning back against the bar. "I'm not going to bother telling you not to. I trust Cas with my life but then again…" The other man left the sentence hanging out there while watching Parker.

"Then again what? Man, if there's something more I need to know…"

"What? I should tell you?" Dean's quiet chuckle ended with a smirk. "Don't think we're at that level of trust yet bro."

Eliot glared at him silently until Dean turned his gaze to him. "Angel or not, if he hurts her…"

"You'll what? Don't overestimate your skills, son. Sure you're an okay fighter but he's a freakin' angel. Be like Godzilla and Jackie Chan."

Ignoring the dig at calling him an 'okay' fighter, Eliot stood up quickly, causing Dean to do the same. Not turning his back on him, Eliot strolled over to Parker and Cas again. He put his hand under her elbow grasping her arm and pulling. "Come on. We need to talk."

"But…" Parker saw his expression and closed her mouth, allowing him to pull her over to the booth where the others were.

Sam stopped typing and glanced up at him. Eliot pushed the laptop closed, barely missing Sam's fingers as he said, "I need to speak to my team. _Alone._" When the other man walked over to join his brother, Eliot continued, "Back room."

Dean tensed when he saw them entering the other room but Sam said something that stopped Dean from saying anything. Cas just watched Parker, ignoring the others.

After shutting the door, Eliot sighed and shook his head at the others. "I don't like working with them."

"Like it or not, we might not have an option Eliot," Sophie pointed out. "They're demon hunters. We're grifters and thieves. One of those…things…has Nate or has done something to him. Unless you plan on Parker stealing us another hunter, we don't have a choice."

"How do we know they're not worse than the demons?" Hardison mumbled. "That Angel is shifty. And I'm not feeling much love for their dumbed down version of Eliot."

"Wait…he's not me, at all. He's…more like…he's not me at all."

Hardison shrugged holding his hands out. "I said _dumbed down_. All attitude, no brains. You have some brains."

"Some…damnit…" Eliot grabbed at his arm, despite Hardison attempting to step away from him, before Sophie snapped 'no' at them. The two men looked at each other then at her.

"Look, can you two resist the urge to break into a petty spat between you? We have no idea where Nate is, if he's alive, or what to do next. We don't know what the others want from us or where it is. We have no plan and we're in over our head. Unless you think Hardison can hack the problem while you beat the hell out of it, Eliot, I suggest you two learn to resist the primal male instincts to be all territorial and realize we _need_ them. If we're going to take on a demon or whatever we got coming for us, might be handy to have an angel on our side."

"But he's not on _our_ side. We don't know what their motivations are," Hardison pointed out. "They want something they think we have. We have no idea if they're willing to help us find Nate or if they even care."

"Cas seems really fond of Parker. Maybe she could get some information out of him," Sophie asked, turning towards Parker. She had been sitting silently on a nearby table swinging her feet back and forth and ignoring the whole discussion. "Parker. _Parker._" Jerking her head up the thief looked confused and Sophie adopted the calm motherly approach. "Do you know what they want from us? Has Cas told you anything?'

"No. But I could ask him. I think he'd tell me if I asked."

"You trust him? You don't even know him. Can I remind you that Lucifer was an Angel too? Not all 'angels' are good." Hardison jealousy was apparent in his tone of voice. "Besides, you never trust anyone that quickly. Maybe he's bewitched you."

They all turned and stared at the hacker for a moment before he sputtered, "Okay, well maybe not _bewitched_ in the literal sense but he could put on a spell of some kind on her. Or trick her. How many angels do you know?"

"Three," Eliot stated plainly.

Narrowing his eyes, Hardison snarked back, "Not _strippers_ named Angel. I mean real angels. If he is even is a _real_ angel. For all we know, he's a demon with wings." The thought silenced them all for a few moments.

"That's just my point. We don't know _any_ of this which is why we need them," Sophie exclaimed. "I'll go talk to Castiel. I'll get the truth out of him."

"He's really an angel," Parker said softly. "I've dreamt of him."

Sophie glanced at Eliot and Hardison before turning to Parker. She gently put her arm around the thief and led her to sit down at the table, then took a seat opposite her. "Parker, tell me about these about the dreams."

"I can't…they're too private. I mean…" the blonde looked around nervously and Eliot sensed her defenses rising. "I just can't." She began staring a hole in the floor.

The silence in the room grew intense before Hardison cleared his throat. "Someone needs to find more information and obviously it's not going to be Parker."

"I'll do it," Sophie said standing up. "I need to get him away from the other two though. I think he's blunter and less secretive then they are. Hardison, you work on Sam. Eliot, that leaves Dean for you."

"That's just…_awesome_," Eliot retorted then rolled his eyes. "So how are you going to get Cas away from the other two. I can probably get Dean to drink a little with me and Hardison is already finding things out from Sam through their geek connection. Wait…does this mean I have an asshole connection with Dean?"

"Umm…" Sophie paused and thought for a moment before using her most persuasive tone with him. "I think you and Dean share a certain protectiveness and authority when it comes to the teams. I wouldn't say it was an 'asshole connection', I would say it's…"

"An asshole connection." Hardison grinned. "Parker, you can hang with me and Sam." Glancing towards her, he realized for the first time she was crying. He walked over and crouched down before her, placing his hands on her knees. "Mama, why the tears?"

She angrily wiped them away and shook her head. "Nothing. Let's get this over with." Rising she brushed past him and walked over to the door, entering the main part of the bar without another word.

**oXoXo**

Nate allowed Meg to finish cleaning the wounds on his face. "So you understand what you need to do now?"

"Yes." He nodded reluctantly, the guilty weighing heavily that he was betraying everyone.

"Once you get the sword, bring it to me and I'll take you to see my friend. Then you can have your son back. That's a fair trade. Your friend took something of ours, we'll trade your son for it." Placing her hands on his shoulders, she smiled. "And we'll even let you and your friends live through it. I think that's pretty fuckin' generous. You don't seem very grateful though. Can I get at least a smile, champ, to show me you realize _you're_ the winner in this?"

Nate glanced away and she tightened her grip on his shoulders, painfully. He forced himself to smile, earning him a pat on the cheek before she finally walked away. Grabbing her bag, she turned back and pointed her finger at him. "Don't think that because I'm letting you leave on your own that I'm not watching you. If you don't get me the sword, I'll rip your your pretty little friends apart. Got it?"

"Yes," he answered quickly. "I'll get the sword. Just give me some time."

"You got two days. If it's not in my hands by then, I'll start with your dark haired friend from the bar the other night and I'll make you watch. Or maybe, I'll just get one of my demon friends to wear her meat suit for awhile…"

"No! I'll do it, I said I would. Just leave them out of it," Nate insisted, storming towards the door. "You'll have it in two days. You have my word."

"Good. Glad we got this settled." As he opened the door, she added, "And if you try to get the hunters and angel to help you, things will only get worse for your friends. And your ex-wife."

Nate stopped cold and whirled around on her. Meg smiled evilly and continued, "Oh, I forgot to mention that, didn't I? What can I say? I'm the prepared type."

"You have…where is she?" Nate snapped, ignoring the dangerous way she was watching him.

"Maggie is safe…for now. She doesn't even know she's in danger. Her new man was not so lucky but who better than a lawyer to possess? We're just keeping an eye on her. Besides, we thought she'd be the first person you'd call when we brought Sam back. Although she's moved on and replaced you, I can still see it in your eyes how much she means to you. If I had a soul, it might be touching or even make me shed a few tears about the tragedy of it all." Meg imitated a fake tear down her face. "Counting on you man. Bring me my plaything and everyone gets to live."

**oXoXo**

"They're plotting something, I can feel it," Dean muttered under his breath. "Can't you just find out where the sword is Cas? Parker seems willing to tell you anything."

"You want me to take advantage of her trust in me?"

"Hell yeah. I mean, we have to play on all the advantages we have. You get the sword from her, I'll deal with Sophie. Sam, you can talk to Eliot and Jake's doppelganger."

"Wait…why do I get the guy that likes to knock me around and the mirror image of the guy who killed me? That seems pretty fucked up if you ask me." Sam barely looked up from his laptop screen.

"No one asked you. Besides, I can get more out of Sophie than you can. She speaks my language."

Cas looked confused. "What language is that?" Sam snorted and muttered "Con artist."

"_Se-duc-tion._ You should try it sometime. But since you got the two dudes, I'd prefer you not try it today. Unless…you think it would work," Dean retorted and smirked at Sam's glare. "I'm just saying."

"Yeah, I know exactly what you're saying: 'do whatever it takes to get what you want from them'," Sam stood up seeing Parker reentering the bar. "Alright, time to divide and conquer."

Taking one look at Parker, Cas shook his head. "I do not like this plan. She's upset."

"Go comfort her then," Dean tossed over his shoulder walking towards Sophie. They all stopped still when a man walked in the bar.

"Nate!" Sophie exclaimed and her steps quickened. Dean noticed how badly the man had been beaten up as the rest of his team rushed to his side asking questions.

"I'm fine. Seriously. I just got into a little bar fight last night. The details are kind of fuzzy to be honest," Nate muttered strolling to the bar. "I sure could use some coffee now. Is there any made?"

"Cora will be here soon to open for the afternoon crowd. Why don't we go upstairs and have a little chat about where you've been?" Sophie said putting her hand on Nate's arm and steering him towards the elevator.

"Who are your friends?" Nate glanced at the other three men. "Do we have new clients?"

"Not exactly…" Hardison glanced over at Dean and Sam then towards Eliot, waiting for someone _else_ to fill in the blanks. Eliot shrugged and turned to Sophie who seemed unsure on how to explain things.

"He's an Angel and the other two are Demon Hunters," Parker interjected cluelessly.

Nate looked the other three over closely then turned to Parker. "Yeah, perhaps you might want to expand on this one."

"Upstairs. Before Cora comes in," Sophie said nudging him again. "I guess you guys can come with us although I'm not sure we need your help now."

"You need our help more than you know." Sam was staring at the door to the bar nervously. A man was standing there casually with a disgusted look and everyone turned to look at him.

"What are you…" Dean began only to be interrupted.

"The demon activity in this area of the world is blowing up. There are hunters and angels here too. Didn't think of the fact that you guys might not be the only ones looking for it didntcha? And you," he pointed at Nate and his team. "Everyone knows you have it so you're going to be getting plenty of visitors soon. Most of them, not very friendly." Bobby took off his hat and wiped his forehead. "I had to dodge a couple of them at the airport."

"You flew?" Sam asked, surprised.

"No, you idgit. I got from South Dakota to Boston in a day by flapping my arms."

"Damnit you people are bringing nothing but trouble into our lives," Eliot snapped, pushing the others towards the back door. "Thanks but no thanks. We got enough problems without your help."

"I wouldn't go out there…" Bobby trailed off when the hitter glared and walked through the back room. Hearing crashing Dean shook his head.

Sam threw his laptop into a bag and headed after the others. "I guess we're going out the backdoor too. Hopefully they have a safe house that's not a stop on the Demon Expressway." Cas followed him with Dean reluctantly trailing after. He snickered when he heard Bobby.

"Balls!"


	5. Chapter 4

_A/N Unbeta'ed because I didn't want to wait. All mistakes are mine._

* * *

Parker sat by herself, looking out the window. Cas rose, ignoring the continuing bickering Dean, Bobby, and Sam were having with Nate and Eliot about the need to separate, and he moved to stand near her. He sensed Hardison's eyes following him and turned to see the scowl on his face. Parker glanced up, her eyes locking with his for a moment before she turned away.

"This is all my fault," she whispered, tears overflowing her eyes and rolling down her face. "I try to do better, and I honestly thought I was better but then it was just so easy and I didn't think anyone would get hurt."

"Your tears show me your true soul." Cas reached out and gently wiped away a tear. Parker squeezed her eyes shut with a sigh.

"When you touch me I see myself through your eyes, but I'm not that person. I've never been her…I just don't know how to be."Angrily, she wiped her cheeks. "Please don't expect me to be."

Sitting down beside her, Cas put his finger under her chin and tilted her face up, his eyes searching hers. "Parker…He doesn't expect you not to sin. He expects you to know your sins, respect them and learn from them. You are flawed, all humans are. But your flaws are _beautiful_, they create the person you are. And what right do I, his servant, have to expect more than He does?"

Parker closed her eyes tightly, pulling away from him. "You want me to give you the sword but my heart tells me that is wrong. I don't think its selfishness or greed that makes me keep it. It's the fact that I know…one day, I will need it to save someone I love…one of them. Maybe that is selfishness but…they saved me, they made me believe that one day I could be good, worthy and deserving of happiness. They filled my heart with love and gave my life purpose. I would _die_ for them. And I know that they would die for me…"

"Then I will not ask it of you. I'll save you from this future you face, take you away from here to protect you," Cas replied, rising and taking her hand.

"No…I can't leave them. They need me and I need them. It's nothing I can explain but I know that without them I won't be brave enough to do what I need to do."

"She's not going anywhere," Hardison stood, his arms crossed over his chest and glaring at Castiel. "I don't know who you are, I don't care who you are, she isn't going anywhere she doesn't want to. I can damn sure promise that."

"You love her." Castiel observed Hardison for a moment before adding. "You cannot protect her. I was drawn here for a reason…for _her_. What can you do to protect her?"

"The question isn't what I can do, it's what_ wouldn't I do_ to protect her. Can you say the same? You're an Angel of the Lord. Your allegiance is to _God_." Hardison stepped closer to Parker, crouching down before her, taking her hands in his own. "But what do you want to do? Ignoring the alpha males snarling and trying to out-bark each other. Listen to your heart and tell me, what do you want, Parker? You know all we want is for you to be safe."

The room grew quiet and Parker knew everyone was listening to her now. "I don't want anyone hurt because of me. Eliot could have died earlier and I don't believe Nate was in a bar fight. I cannot lose you…any of you. Maybe it's just best if I leave, so you'll all be safe. Bobby said there were other angels here. Will they try to help me or try to hurt me?"

Cas glanced at Dean and Sam before shaking his head, answering her in a quiet voice, "I do not know. I no longer understand the actions of my brothers."

The room was silent again as the team tried to comprehend the meaning of Cas' words. "I know you all think we brought this trouble into your life but we're trying to protect you. I beg you to trust us, give us time to sort this out. You're good for each other, you make each other stronger as a team but…you think a demon attack is bad? What if one of you is possessed? Are you ready or prepared to deal with that?" Sam looked at each of them for a moment. "It's a horrible fate for _anyone_, but imagine how it feels to watch someone you love go through it. And you might not survive it because no matter how you feel about each other, you will destroy one another if you're possessed. The demon takes over all of your thoughts, all of your actions."

"How can you protect us from that?" Sophie asked, rising and standing before Dean. "You keep promising to protect us but so far, I haven't heard _how_. I'm not going to banter back and forth about who needs to be in charge: I want to know your plan to protect us. If you want my trust, give me a reason to trust you, not empty promises."

"I've battled demons for most of my life and I've only died once," Dean retorted then grew serious. "There are ways to defeat them; ways to send them back to hell. If you can't trust us to do it for you, trust us to teach you how." Pointing to Eliot, he added, "But he can't beat them into hell. Bravery and fighting skills will only get him killed sooner, rather than later. I know…you're used to taking care of yourselves but you can't do it alone. Not this."

Eliot glanced away before turning to Sophie and saying, "You all trust me to protect you and I hope that'll never change but as much as it kills me to admit this, I can't do this alone. I can barely handle one of them, must less a group of them. I'm willing to sacrifice my pride so I don't have to sacrifice the safety of any of you."

Dean nodded slowly in Eliot's direction. "We're safe here for now. Let us show you how. If you don't want our help after that…well you'd be a moron but we'll back off."

"What about Meg? Can you handle Meg?" Nate asked solemnly, sitting down and clutching his side. Dean's head snapped in his direction.

Eliot rushed to him, realizing suddenly how hurt Nate was. The mastermind sagged back in the chair, allowing the hitter to examine him, his breath catching in his throat whenever Eliot found new injuries. Dean cleared his throat and Eliot found the two brothers giving meaningful glances at each other. When Sophie stepped toward Eliot and Nate, Dean stopped her while Sam approached the two men uneasily, saying in a quiet voice, "He…could already be possessed. We need to make sure he's not."

Studying Nate's face, Eliot hesitated before stepping back. A deep breath, then swallowing the rage at the thought, he finally nodded, saying, "If he is, you can't kill him. Or I will _end_ you."

"No! What are you going to do to him?" Sophie tried to stop them but Dean held her firm. Nate looked at Eliot and nodded slowly, accepting his fate, whatever it was so Eliot's eyes pleaded Sophie for understanding.

"It won't hurt him," Dean assured Sophie quietly, trying to sooth her. "A little holy water and rock salt, that's it. Basically painless if he's not a demon."

Sophie pushed at Dean's chest, forcing him to let her go. "And if he is a demon? It will kill him won't it? And if Nate is still in there, if he can be saved, but it'll be too late. No, I won't allow it. And frankly I cannot believe you will Eliot." Her glare in his direction was met with steely determination.

When she moved towards Nate, Eliot crossed in front of him, to meet Sophie face to face. "You know I wouldn't do this if there was another option. It's my job to protect the rest of the team, even if it's from each other. And Nate, if that's really him, would tell you the same thing. He'd want me to do that, no matter the risk to his personal safety. So let _me_ do my _**job**_ and make the decisions about our safety. Sam, just do it."

Sophie shook her head in disbelief, the sting of betrayal on her face, and stepped back from Eliot. The hitter watched her, ready to stop her if she tried to interfere. He heard Nate coughing and tensed before Sam said in a relieved voice, "He's not possessed. Cas, you need to heal him. He's really in bad shape."

Hardison turned slowly back to the window; already sensing what he'd feared would happen. Castiel was gone, and he'd taken Parker with him. The room erupted into arguments again with a nice little shoving match between Dean and Eliot, but Hardison blocked them out. With Parker gone, he didn't care about the Angels or demons, or who was going to help them solve this. All he cared about was getting her back, whatever it took.

**xOxOx**

Dean landed on the floor with a thud and slammed his back into the cabinets, due in a large part to Eliot's boot in his midsection. Sophie and Sam pulled the hitter away but Dean fumed as he rose. "Have I mentioned we're trying to _help_ you? We certainly didn't know Cas planned to take her. In case you haven't noticed, he frequently comes and goes on his own. She'll be safe with him though. You, on the other hand, are going to seriously _**piss me off**_ if you don't stop acting like an enraged rhino every time plans change. Get over it. Seriously, you need to learn to deal. You can't go through life hitting people when you don't get your way."

"Hell yes I can!" Eliot yelled pushing Sam away but since he wasn't willing to hurt Sophie, he silently seethed in Dean's direction. "You tell me to trust you, then your winged friend takes Parker to God knows where. For all we know, he's taken her for good. Get him back. _Now_."

"How? Dial 1-900-Angel?" Bobby retorted, receiving a glare from Sam.

Rubbing his temples, Sam explained as calmly and rationally as he could to the testosterone filled room. "Even if we could call him, Cas won't come back if he feels there is a threat to someone he is trying to protect. Maybe he is protecting her but there is a real possibility he's protecting all of us. Your friend has something in her that Cas picked up on. If he did, maybe the other angels can and they'll be drawn to her."

"I'm still unclear how having angels on our side is a bad thing," Nate muttered weakly. "Angels of Death…now I could see them being a bad omen but angels on a whole are bad?"

"They all have their own agenda. Some of them have an agenda that isn't conducive to human survival," Bobbie explained before admitting, "Cas is basically a good one. A pain in the ass most of the time, but as far as angels go, he's good. She'll be safe. You have my word."

"Sorry, but your word means absolutely nothing to me," Sophie threw at Bobbie. "All of you men are asking for trust and giving me your word like it's something you expect me to do easily. I've…well, we've all learned over the years what trust is and don't give it away so easily. Now Castiel took Parker. You cannot convince me to trust you."

"Please." Hardison said, softly, but it caused the others to remember him being in the room with them. "Please just get her back. Or tell us what we need to do to get her back." His voice sounded defeated and he leaned against the wall not facing any of them.

Eliot ran his hands through his hair, frustrated, yet determined. "We'll get her back, man. Until then, I need you guys to show us what we need to do. I want to know how to kill a demon or an Angel if I have to."

"Alright, I'll teach you but you lay another hand…or foot on me, I'm giving you a good old fashioned ass whooping," Dean stood up, brushing off his jeans. "For now, I suggest someone giving me the rock salt from our car and maybe one of those instant ice pack things."

"Aww, do you have a ouchie and no angel to fix it?" Eliot mocked him and received an frustrated sigh from Sophie. "What? He left himself open."

"Haha, you got in trouble…" Dean snarked, before muttering, "Asswipe."

Bobby rolled his eyes and walked towards the door. "Great, the moron has an evil twin. World can't handle two of them."

The door slammed dramatically and Sophie walked over to Sam, saying under her breath, "I honestly don't know which one is supposed to be evil."

"It boggles the mind doesn't it?" Sam said, and the two of them proceeded to help Nate into the bedroom to lie down.

**xOxOx**

"Do you remember this place?" Castiel's voice was barely a whisper on the breeze but Parker heard him and nodded. She closed her eyes and exhaled, trying to calm her inner turmoil but the tears burned her eyes. Sensing him watching her, she stepped closer to the edge of the roof. She knew she wouldn't fall but wondered if he realized that or would he be concerned.

"You feel safer the closer you are to falling." A statement, not a question, so she just nodded. Castiel stepped up to stand beside her. "If you fall from here, you'll die. Is that what you want?"

"I won't fall."

"You are calmer, more in control of your emotions. I know I won't die yet I feel uneasy here…I have wings."

"But I can fly without wings." Parker smiled, inner peace giving her some sense of serenity. The sun warmed her face and she stretched her arms out, sensing she could touch it. "I think I was meant to have wings. Things are easier here than on the ground."

"Because you're alone and you're used to being alone." Castiel brushed her hair back, resting his hand on her shoulder. Parker didn't pull away like she normally would if someone touched her like that. There was a strange comfort in it but it was painful, like it wasn't meant to be or it was too much for her to endure. It made her soul ache.

"I'm rarely alone anymore. And people care if I'm gone…they notice, they worry."

"Because they love you," Cas replied and Parker felt funny when he said it. Opening her eyes, she turned to him. "Because he loves you, even though you deny him."

Parker blushed and almost took a step back but Castiel held her shoulder. His eyes made her feel like he was trying to read her mind which scared her and she finally did step away, withdrawing from him and into herself for a moment.

Castiel made a sound, like he began to say something but stopped. After a long time, he said, "I'll leave you for awhile or I can take you back now."

Her mind raced. She knew the others would be worried and she should go back. But part of her needed this, needed to be back here, where it all started. So she whispered, "Just ten more minutes."

Castiel walked away, standing on the other side and Parker moved back to her perch, remembering when she first came here, the first time she let herself fall. She'd been wearing a harness but it wasn't tested, it wasn't safe at this height according to all sources. But she sensed she could do it so she had let herself fall and waited until she had plunged twenty stories, pushing the boundaries of how far she should free fall before she stopped. It had been nighttime then and she had been much younger. And it was many stolen jewels ago. If she measured her life by stolen jewels it was near her birth, but it also ended part of her life. The part that tried to fit in with normal people died that night because she didn't need anyone else if she could fly. She was always alone but never felt lonely after that night.

Now her heart ached when she thought of a time when the others wouldn't be there. She often wondered if it was easier when she had no one but then she had no one to lose.

She turned suddenly and called out to Castiel, "Will you catch me?" With an impish grin, she leaned backwards, free falling through the air. He waited until the last moment to catch her and the rush of it filled her with such peace. Cas' lips brushed hers, lingering for but a moment before clutching her tightly to him, her head resting on his chest. He felt said when she whispered, "I knew you'd catch me. But now I must go home."


	6. Chapter 5

Dean held out the shotgun to Eliot who shook his head. "I don't like guns."

"You don't _like_ guns? What do you mean you don't like guns?"

"I…I don't like guns. I just don't." Eliot crossed his arms over his chest, daring Dean to say more.

Dean laughed, looking at his brother. "He doesn't like guns, Sammy." Turning back to Eliot, he dropped all humor from his expression and said, "Take the damn gun."

"What part of 'I don't like guns' don't you get? I. Don't. Like. Guns. There has to be another way."

Dean pushed the gun into Eliot's chest on the verge of shooting him himself. "How do you intend to do this? Throw a salt shaker in their direction? Or maybe you intend to use your charm to ask them nicely to back off. Take the fu…"

"Give me the gun. I like guns just fine." Hardison held out his hand impatiently. Dean and Eliot remained in their stare down contest and he asked Sam, "Got anything that'll kill an angel?"

"Listen guys, we said we'd show you how but we can't _make_ you listen to us. Either you want to learn or you don't but fighting us every step of the way isn't working." Sam ran his hands through his hair and sat down.

Bobby had been watching quietly from the side and finally pulled Dean away and stood before Eliot. Dean took a step back, shaking his head in disgust and throwing the gun on the table.

"Did your mother drop you on your head boy or are you just an idgit? We're trying to help you and you two are acting like a bunch of jackasses."

"I suggest you take a step back, old man. I'm not your damn _boy_," Eliot said slowly, his eyes cold and Hardison realized taking a step back might be a good idea too.

"No, because _my _boy would have sense enough to realize if nothing but a gun will work, then you use a damn gun. Now I suggest you take a walk and then come back when you find your brain. Meanwhile, we'll just hope the demons aren't on a deadline."

"Is there a problem?" Sophie stood leaning on the door frame like she'd been there long enough to know the answer already. "Eliot, I know you don't normally use a gun but nothing about the situation is normal. And you two…" she moved her finger back and forth between Dean and Bobby. "Try to remember this is our first experience with demons and you're asking Eliot to go against everything he's learned over the years to trust in. Try to have some damn understanding considering all that we've been through in the last day. Remember what it was like when you first found out about demons. Was it that easy when you found out?"

"Considering that a yellow-eyed demon burned my mother on the ceiling above Sam's crib when I was a little kid, you can imagine that this is _all_ I've known." Dean's jaw tightened as he watched Sophie, not willing to bend on this. "Whether you've known about demons a day or a week, I still know more than you ever want to know so why don't you understand that we're trying to help you stay alive? We've got other places to go if you don't want our help."

Sophie glanced away from him for a moment before nodding slowly. "You're absolutely right. I have no idea what you've been through. But imagine if Eliot told you that you had to stop doing what you trusted and do things his way. Then you'll have a grasp of what he's feeling. And yes, he's stubborn and hardheaded. That's never been a point up for debate." Her eyes shot to Bobbie and she glared, "But he's not _stupid_ so flippant remarks and trying to treat him like an errant child isn't the best way to get through to him. Try explaining things to him on a tactical level and you'll get much further. I know there's a lot of big male egos in here right now and honestly I don't care about that. I'm just saying that this constant battle between you guys and us is only going to end badly for everyone. Personally I don't want to have to watch someone I care about die because all of you…_men_…are so stubborn that you refuse to see things from the other side."

The room was quiet before Eliot growled under his breath and held out his hand for the rifle. Dean glanced at Eliot, then at Sophie, then back at Eliot in stunned silence before handing it over. When Sophie left the room, Dean finally asked, "Bobbie, how could you never tried the logic approach with us? She honestly made me _want_ to help him and you never had that affect. Well…she is prettier than you. That could be it."

Bobbie shook his head, mumbled something under his breath, and walked away. Sam handed Hardison the other rifle. They were deep in discussion when Parker asked. "Can I learn too?"

"Parker!" Hardison pushed past Sam, almost knocking him over and grabbed Parker in a tight embrace, before holding her a few feet away while examining her. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"No, I'm _fine_." Parker stepped away from him, well aware of everyone watching her and uneasy being the center of attention. "Why are you freaking out?"

"He _took_ you! He took you from here without saying or telling us anything," Hardison replied, his voice tinged with anger and bitterness. "I don't give a damn if he's an angel or a Powerpuff Girl. Just because he can do that doesn't mean he _should_."

"I asked him to," Parker answered in a small voice. Seeing the hurt on Hardison's face, she rushed to explain, "I just needed to think for a few minutes and I knew you guys wouldn't let me leave on my own. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Hardison nodded and looked away from her. Parker stepped closer and put her hand on his arm, saying nothing but watching him closely.

"Where's the angel?" Eliot asked, tossing the weapons down and walking towards the door. "I think I need to speak with him."

"He's gone. He healed Nate and left. I don't know where, just said he'd be back soon. Nate wanted to talk to you though, Eliot."

Eliot stopped and said closely to her, "Don't do that again Parker." Although he was furious that she asked the angel to help her leave, he was too grateful that she was okay to really sound intimidating. She barely glanced at him, still watching Hardison but she nodded. He knew she was sorry she'd hurt the hacker but right now he couldn't deal with any emotional crap. Dean and Sam both pretended to be distracted by what they were doing but he knew they listened and watched everything they did.

He left the room, walking through the house and running up the stairs to the bedrooms. Sophie stormed past him, muttering angrily under her breath but didn't give him a chance to ask her what was wrong. Eliot knocked once and heard Nate call out, "Not now, Sophie," as he opened the door.

"Oh, I thought you…well, you know. I can't deal with her questions anymore," Nate sat up on the side of the bed.

"You back in one piece now?" Eliot sat down in the chair and put his feet up on the bedside table. "The angel is good for one thing at least."

"I'm okay now. But I don't think he trusts me."

"Well…I don't think any of us trust any of them so I'm not surprised. So what's the plan?"

Nate wouldn't look him in the eye which usually led to Eliot having doing something he really didn't want to do. "I need you to run an errand for me. But you won't want to do it."

Eliot pulled down his feet and planted them on the floor in front of him, rubbing his face with both hands. "Man, I hate it when you start off like that. Just get to the point. What do you want me to do? Fight the angel? Kill Dean…well that wouldn't be too bad except the angel…"

"I need you to go find Maggie and bring her back here," Nate interrupted him, finally raising his eyes to meet Eliot's "Meg…the demon that had me…she…she said Maggie's new boyfriend has been possessed."

Eliot stood up and sighed. "I can't leave you guys. I'd like to help, you know if the circumstances were different I would but, I can't be in two places at one time."

"Please. We're safe here and whether you trust them or not, those demon hunters seem to be on our side or at least not on the demons' side. Eliot, she'll kill Maggie just as sport. Please do this for me," Shame written on his face Nate's eyes begged him. "You're the _only_ one I can trust to do this. And you know I wouldn't ask if I had any choice."

"What aren't you telling me Nate?" Eliot studied him and Nate visibly tried to look blank.

"Nothing! I just know that if anyone else finds out then they'll tell me to not try to help her or it would put us in danger. But Eliot, its _Maggie_."

Despite the fact he was hiding something from Eliot, Nate was desperate so he'd have to go help Maggie or...who knows what would happen to her. "Where is she? I'm not getting on a plane or going far."

"No, she's in Boston," Nate replied before grabbing a pen and pulling a pad from his jacket. "Here's the address. And don't let the others see you leave. I'll cover for you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Eliot replied. When Nate stood up, Eliot pointed his finger into the other man's chest. "If whatever you're hiding from me, and don't insult my intelligence by denying it, blows up in my face or anyone gets hurt…well, do I need to finish the rest of this statement?"

**xOxOx**

Eliot was halfway to Maggie's work address when he sensed being followed. Slowing down, he turned to find an attractive dark haired woman standing in the middle of the alley behind him. She smiled, strolling to him and walking around him in a circle, her finger trailing along his shoulders then down his chest. She whistled low, followed by a seductive laugh. Eliot didn't move, following her with his eyes. She raised her eyebrows and tilted her head. "I'd hoped he'd send you instead of the two morons."

"Meg, I assume."

"Aww, he told you about me? I'm so flattered. Or insulted that he told you about me, yet you still came to rescue his wife. Maybe you didn't believe what he told you about me." Meg dragged a fingernail across his bottom lip. Eliot resisted the urge to step away from her.

"I wanted to meet you actually. I admire a woman that can take care of herself. But then…I guess calling you a 'woman' isn't entirely accurate now is it?" He let a slight smile cross his lips.

Meg's eyes flashed with anger but she didn't stop smiling. Both her hands lowered so they were on his chest, slowly moving down. "Don't worry, I fuck like a woman."

"I'll take your word for it. Are we going to get to the part where you threaten me or something soon?" He bit back a moan and closed his eyes tightly when she grabbed his crotch harshly. As soon as the pressure released from his balls, he stepped away, trying to remain calm and not assume the fetal positions and cry like a little girl. "Hey now, let's not start any inappropriate touching and let's just fight."

"Don't like being at the mercy of a woman I see." She laughed, grabbing a handful of his hair and jerking him forward. "Never give away your Achilles Heel so quickly. You take all the fun out of it." She slapped him hard across the face. If that was a slap and not a punch though, he was pretty much screwed.

Eliot relaxed for a moment, letting fear cross his face for a moment. As soon as she saw it, her grip on him loosened slightly. It was enough. He spun quickly out of her grasp shoving her about ten feet before she crashed to the ground. "Having fun now?" he growled at her, seriously _pissed off_ at this point. He didn't like to hit women…any women…so he had to remind himself that it wasn't a woman and she just tried to make him sing soprano by crushing his nuts into powder! That was _not_ cool and proved to him that she was epitome of evil.

"Yes! At last, someone who will fight back," Meg threw her head back and laughed. She rose slowly, watching him like assessing her prey. "But it's been a long time baby. So let's not rush things."

"I don't have much time so it's going to have to be a quickie." He moved to strike her face but she caught his fist and shoved him hard enough that he stumbled backwards.

"What? No foreplay? Typical man," she rushed at him and the next thing Eliot knew he was flat on his back about twenty feet away and she was headed in his direction.

_'Fuck. This isn't going to end well.'_


	7. Chapter 6

_A/N Sorry for the LONG delay. I have been starting up Leverage Fan Media - an archive for Leverage Fan Fiction. Check it out! (take out the spaces - www . leveragefanmedia . org) We need more writers and readers! (there is also a place for fanart, fanvideos, and a forum!)  
_

* * *

Castiel appeared out of the blue, startling them all. "Where is Parker?"

"She's talking to Nate, _our_ crew leader. I suggest you don't interrupt them." Hardison glared at the angel before putting down the gun and slowly walking over to him. "And I also suggest you don't take Parker away from us without saying anything again. I don't trust you and I certainly don't trust your intentions toward her."

The angel studied him for a moment before answering. "You care deeply for her."

"We…we…all do," Hardison stammered. "But yes, I do. And angel or not…"

"I told you. I am an angel of the Lord. If she asks me to take her somewhere again, I will do so. I do not need your permission, mortal." Brushing him aside, Cas walked over to Dean. "We need to talk. Alone."

Dean glanced at Sam before rolling his eyes and nodding slowly. Following the angel outside, he muttered, "Look Cas, we're trying to convince them that we can be trusted. Taking one of their team, the one everyone seems so protective of, away without saying anything probably wasn't the best plan. As it is, I have to deal with grumpy and dopey."

"Which one is grumpy?" Wide blue eyes looked at him curiously.

"Now they _both_ are, although I haven't seen Eliot in awhile. I guess he's up with Nate. They all seem to be scurrying about having secret meetings, except Hardison who seems to be clueless to the fact he's out of the loop. Unless he knows what's going on and hasn't let on. Once Parker came back, he focused solely on what he had to do to protect her. I assume from the demons but if you keep it up, he might end up using the angel sword on you once he knows what it can do." Dean glanced over his shoulder quickly before lowering his voice again. "So are we dealing with another Anna?"

"What do you mean? Anna was once an angel…"

"And we only found out about it because she could hear angels. And Parker knows things about you that she shouldn't know. So I ask again, is she…or was she an angel who is just missing her grace?"

Cas was quiet for a long time and Dean wondered, yet again, what was going on in his head. Finally the angel spoke confidentially, "No, she was never an angel. She is unique and I cannot say what she is."

The thought that Cas was keeping something from him or even worse didn't know something unnerved Dean. "You can't? Or you won't?"

Quick headshake before a shadow passed over the angel's face. "I cannot. I do not know. But she is not to be hurt, under any circumstances."

"Okay Cas, you cannot say 'don't hurt someone' without knowing what she is. How do we know she won't hurt _us_? She might be a vessel, a prophet…the freaking spirit of the Easter bunny but she could just as easily be possessed by a demon or something worse. Have you thought about that? She took that sword for a reason, let's not forget that." Dean realized he had raised his voice a bit and glanced back toward the door. Looking over his shoulder, he noticed Nate watching them from the window. Even though there was no 'normal' way he could hear them, Dean grew uneasy. Something was up and he didn't like it.

"She is not evil. I know that. She is…innocent," Cas insisted, ignoring Dean's uneasy feeling. "I do not know…"

"Parker is a cat burglar. A thief. How can you use the word innocent to describe her?" Dean shook his head incredulously and watched as Nate stepped away from the window. Parker soon appeared and looked down on Cas before briefly letting her fingers touch the glass and lingering there. She didn't even glance at Dean and the haunted look on her face along with her sad eyes worried him. As soon as she disappeared from the window, he said to Cas, "Something is going on." When he turned back to the angel, he found that he was alone again.

"DAMNIT Cas!" He yelled before barging back into the house. Ignoring the others he went to find Parker. If not her, then Sophie seemed to be the most reasonable.

**xOxOx**

"But Nate…I don't think that's…right. I mean, we don't know what it does or why she wants it. I'm sure she doesn't want it for _good_ reasons. She's a demon and she tried to _kill_ you. Let's not forget, we're the good guys now and even though we don't have a client, I know this is…wrong." Parker glanced around the room, looking at everything but Nate. He felt guilty for putting her on the spot but he had to.

"Parker, if we don't do this, they'll kill us all. And besides, we can always help them steal it back, if we need to. But if we don't give the demons the sword now…they _will_ kill us. We don't know what it will do so let's not assume it's going to harm anyone. Maybe the demons want it because it can kill them." Nate placed his hand on Parker's and smiled when the thief glanced up at him in surprise. "You trust me don't you? More than you trust Castiel. Parker, it's me. You know I would never do anything to hurt you."

Parker watched him for a moment before slowly nodding. "But Nate…I just know. Can't you trust me? I'm telling you what _I _know. That sword isn't meant to be with the demons. It's meant to do something important. Something to help us and if I give it to you for this Meg person then I can't protect any of us. I know that this is what I am supposed to do with it. I know…in my heart."

Swallowing hard, Nate glanced away from her. He could see how much he was hurting her. She was begging him to trust her and he did. He also knew that this was for Sam. Being selfish for Sam was alright, wasn't it? I mean his son deserved his sacrifices more than anyone, even Parker and the rest of the team. They were grifters and thieves. They would sacrifice each other to help themselves if they had no choice. No, he was doing the right thing, the right thing over all.

"I need this Parker. I need you to do this for me, to protect the others, to help me to protect the others. They already have Eliot and…"

She jumped up quickly and took a step back from him. Nate realized that he could convince her with this information. "Why didn't you tell anyone? Where is Eliot?"

"They came while you were downstairs. Eliot tried to stop them but…well, they took him and promised he'd stay alive unless we didn't give them the sword. If we don't, they'll come back for another one of us. They won't touch the hunters. They know how to hurt us and that's our closeness to each other. I told them they had to let you go and get the sword but not hurt you. So it will be Sophie or Hardison next, I suppose." Nate swallowed viciously against the bile that rose in his throat with this lie. He barely forced it from his lips and wished he could take it back. Shaking his head quickly he urged her toward the bedroom door. "Go get the sword. Bring it back to me and I'll take it to them. But don't let anyone see you or they will try to stop you. I'll cover for you."

Parker stopped in the doorway after looking both ways and turned back to him. "I'm doing this for Eliot and to protect the others. I wish you had trusted me before they took Eliot, Nate. I know one of us will pay for this." Tears filled her eyes and he barely heard her whispered last words. "I hope it's me instead of any of you."

Nate thought of stopping her but before he made up his mind, she was gone. Withdrawing back into the bedroom, he walked over and pulled a flask from a bag, taking a long deep swig from it. It took him a couple of swallows before his hands stopped shaking.

"Where's Parker?" Sophie asked from the doorway. When he turned back to face her, one of the hunters was there. Sophie studied him and he knew she would know if he lied.

"She left to go get the 'thing'," he signaled her with his eyes. "I tried to stop her but…"

"Damnit!" Dean yelled but Sophie put her hand on his arm.

"Did you send her after Eliot? Or did you just use the same lie to convince her?" Sophie's eyes were cold as she studied Nate. "You might be able to con them but you cannot con me. Tell me the truth and God help you if anything happens to Parker or Eliot."

**xOxOx**

Eliot lay broken, crumpled at her feet, his last breaths struggling past through his lungs. He never thought it would go down like this. He thought someday his past demons would calm to haunt him but never thought a real demon, this true vision of evil, would snuff the life out of him. The eyes that looked back at him, watching the life seeping from him, were human now. But the smile showed her true demonic self encased within the beautiful woman she possessed.

"I got to be honest babe. You have provided quite a bit of entertainment with your earnest attempt to stop me. Don't think of this as a failure on your part cupcake. It wasn't a question of you not being man enough; you just aren't as evil as you think you are. You'd make an excellent demon though. I can make it happen if you prefer that." Meg wiped the blood from Eliot's mouth and placed a tender kiss on his lips.

"Fuck you," Eliot whispered closing his eyes. He didn't want her to be the last thing he saw.

"Knew you wouldn't disappoint," she laughed and put her hand on his throat. "Don't worry. This will hurt a lot…"

Before he had time to brace himself, even if he had the energy to do so, she was gone and a blinding white light burned against his eyelids. As soon as the light dimmed, he opened his eyes weakly. A tall, willowy, blonde-haired man stood there watching him curiously before taking a step toward him. Eliot remembered thinking something was beautiful about him before blackness claimed him. He awoke with a jerk feeling someone's hands on his ribs.

'Shh…hold still. Let me help you.' The words weren't spoken aloud but he heard them and he struggled to open his eyes. 'Wait a little longer, valiant one.' Once again, blackness took him, causing loss of all thoughts.

When Eliot woke the second time, he opened his eyes immediately and felt no pain when he moved. He lay on a bed in a small room, with a window overlooking the harbor. The sounds of the ships and the ocean were soothing and he gave himself a moment before trying to find out where he was.

"You are safe. If I wanted you dead, Eliot, I would have left you in the alley." The soft spoken voice belonged to the stranger from the alley.

Although he knew he should be more alert and concerned, Eliot found it almost impossible to be. "What did you do to me? I feel…different."

"You pierced the veil slightly but not so far that I could not pull you back and heal you. Your spirit might seem disconnected for awhile. And honestly it will never be the same as you have crossed over once. But in time, the confusion will end and you will not feel as strange." The man handed him a glass of a dark liquid and helped him sit up to drink it.

"I pierced the veil? You mean I died?" Eliot asked and the man nodded. "So if you pulled me back you must be a…?"

The man smiled and lowered his blue eyes to meet Eliot's inquiring gaze. "I'm an angel, of course. But you knew that, did you not? You have met one of my brothers."

"Castiel's your brother? Did you send him then?"

"We are all brothers. But no, he didn't send me, nor does he know who I am. I heard her prayers and I came for you." The man rose swiftly and walked to the other side of the room, keeping his back to Eliot. "Lately I cannot shut out her prayers. Of course, she did not pray much until the last few years or at least I never heard them. But now…they pull me to her, to all of you."

Eliot thought for a moment before finally asking, "She? Who is she?"

His next words silenced Eliot completely. There were no words, only a blank stare at the man. "My earthly daughter, the one you call Parker." A slight smile tugged at the man's lips. "I see you're surprised. Before you ask, no, she is not an angel, quite obviously. She is…there is no name for what she is, as she is the only one to my knowledge."

Eliot nodded and waited for the man to continue as he stared dreamily out the window. Finally he continued, "We aren't supposed to fall in love. We love all our charges, you humans. Our father ruled that we must. But falling in love with a woman, a _mortal_ woman…I would have been banished for...the things I have done. She never knew what I was, who I was. And I never knew what would happen to her because of me, or I never would have…" A tear ran down his face and Eliot felt the pain radiating from across the room. "But it is too late for regret."

Eliot nodded and looked away, the man's words and his pain overwhelming him for a moment. When he turned back to ask him more, he was alone. He stood and glanced around the room before he felt another presence behind him and turned to find Castiel standing there.

"Eliot, I have been looking for you. What is wrong?"

Looking down, Eliot realized he was covered in blood and did not know how to answer Castiel. He wasn't sure how much he should tell the angel. He owed it to Parker, to tell her first. Brushing off Cas' question, he asked, "Can you take me to Parker?"

"I do not know where she is. I was hoping she was with you." Cas put his hand on Eliot's shoulder and looked deep in his eyes, making Eliot very uneasy. He tried to turn away but before he could, Cas said, "You're different. You were pulled from the veil. Who has done this?"

Eliot stepped back quickly. A familiar feeling of annoyance took over before he growled. "He never gave me his name. You guys aren't big on intros before you do your little invasive mind tricks and beaming people up. Now look, I need to find Maggie before I return to the others. Can you help me or are you going to preach to me about what I should be doing instead?


	8. Chapter 7

_A/N Thanks to AndiGemini for the beta!_

* * *

Bobbie went to the downstairs bedroom to take a nap after making Hex bags. Sam and Hardison sat talking about dealing with demons. Basically it was simple, point and shoot. He'd done that plenty of times in video games and so on. He could kick some virtual ass but had issues with actually killing people. "So if we shoot the demon, it leaves the body but the people are dead. Dude, I don't know about that."

Sam watched him sympathetically before he nodded. "When the demon takes over their body, it's very difficult for the body to ever be the same. Most of the dispossessed die afterwards. Demons 'wear out' their bodies."

Hardison tried to absorb that fact but grasped to the small amount of hope. "Most. But not all. See? That's where I have a problem. And the angel could heal them, right?"

"Yes, of the physical damage, but not the emotional scars of having something evil wearing you."

"So they get _therapy_."

"That will go over well," Sam chuckled. "How would you like to be the one that had to go to a shrink saying 'doctor I was possessed by a demon'? It doesn't work like that. Once they're possessed they're goners."

"How do you and Dean keep yourselves from being possessed then? These smelly hacky sacks?"

"Hex bags are good for hiding yourselves but they will not prevent possession. That's what these are for." Sam handed him a few necklaces with charms on them.

Holding out the necklaces, Hardison shook his head. "Sophie will never wear these unless they match her outfit..." Hearing heard the loud voices, he jumped up, ran upstairs, taking two steps at a time, to find out what was going on. Dean had Nate pinned against the wall by his shirt, but before he reacted in defense of Nate, Hardison noticed that Sophie seemed very much on Dean's side of this argument.

"Where did you send them?" Sophie yelled, ignoring his arrival. Hardison heard Sam come up behind him and held out his hand to stop him.

"What's going on?" Hardison asked, warily looking around. "Where's Parker, Eliot and the angel?" He knew the thing that would have pissed Sophie off the most at Nate would be him endangering the team.

Dean's glare flew to his, as he said, "That's what I'm _trying_ to find out."

"I didn't send Eliot or Castiel anywhere," Nate calmly said, his eyes not meeting his eyes. "And Parker went to get something. I tried to stop her but…she wouldn't listen. You know how she is."

"Yes, I do know. And I know that she wouldn't put herself at greater risk in a situation where she knows she's out of her element. Well, not like this at least. Did Castiel take her?" Hardison saw a gleam in Nate's eyes and instantly added, "Do not say yes if you do not know, man."

"I don't know."

"Cas didn't take her. He was with me until I came up here and we were talking about Parker. Besides I don't think he'd do that again," Dean replied. Glancing at Sophie, he added, "I don't think so at least. But maybe he went after her to protect her."

"And who is protecting Eliot? Where did you send him? There is something you're not telling us." Sophie's eyes narrowed and she was angrier at Nate than Hardison had seen in awhile.

"Let me deal with this," Hardison said to Dean. The hunter glared but finally nodded and reluctantly let go of Nate's shirt, taking a step back. Hardison stood before Nate and studied him closely. "You've put us all in danger before, _mortal_ danger, and I'm sure that you'll do it again. But this ain't like before, man. This isn't like _anything_ we've faced before. Jail isn't on the line here, Nate, we are! Our actual flesh and blood, souls and all, lives are on the line. And the thing is, after everything you've put us through, after you've endangered all of us, I still don't know if you even care. Eliot and Parker can normally take care of themselves, _normal_ly. When it comes down to it, even with all the risks you take, we trust you. Straight up man, where are they?"

"I don't know."

As soon as Nate set his jaw stubbornly, Hardison knew he was lying. Unable to resist, he punched Nate in the stomach, dropping the older man like a rock. He bent down and yelled in Nate's ear, "Eliot taught me that solar plexus trick. You want me to show you what else he taught me?"

Dean grabbed his arm. "Wait, wait. Beating him up ain't gonna help, despite how good it feels. Don't you have a tech way to track them?"

Shaking and flexing his hand, he answered, "_Assuming_ they have their earbuds or their phones, I can try. But that's a big assumption, especially since you two crushed Eliot's in that alley last night."

"You work on that. And next time, tighter fist, less pain. I'm going to try and get Cas back here so he can possibly help," Dean ran down the stairs and straight into Cas' chest, which threw him off balance. Hardison was too close and ran into Dean.

Ignoring the two men trying to right themselves, Cas asked, "Help with what?"

**oxoxo**

Dean glared at Cas as he helped Hardison from the floor while the others joined them in the hallway. Seeing the blonde woman with Eliot, he cocked his head to the side. "Did you feel the need to bring a date?"

"Yeah, that's it brainiac," Eliot replied. "I had nowhere else to take her." The woman looked like she was still stunned by something and Dean's gaze slid to Cas. Not that he could read the angel's expression or anything.

Sophie walked down the stairs and put her hand on the other woman's arm. "Maggie?" It took Maggie a few moments to acknowledge her presence. Before Dean could ask another question, Sophie turned back around and ran up the stairs again. He heard some banging around and cursing before she came back down the stairs. "Nate's gone."

"Probably because he knows I'm going to kill him," Eliot growled. He led Maggie into the living room.

Sophie walked to the kitchen and came out pouring some scotch into a glass, then handed it to Maggie. Hands shaking, she drank it slowly while everyone watched her silently. When the glass was empty, she took a deep breath as Sophie poured her another shot.

"I'm fine now. Thanks for rescuing me again. I don't even…can't even explain what I saw back there. I really need to give up dating." Her eyes drifted to Dean. She held out her hand and said, "I'm Maggie."

"I'm Dean, my brother, Sam, and Bobby. I can imagine this all must be unnerving."

The woman laughed bitterly. "I was just getting adjusted to the fact my ex is a criminal. Demons might take awhile."

"A demon came after you?" Sophie asked, her eyes wide. "But how would they know how to find you?"

"They've done their research apparently better than us. We didn't even know Maggie existed," Dean muttered, glaring at Sam who held his hands up before rolling his eyes. "My question is how did Eliot know his ex-wife was in danger?"

"No…no…Eliot's not my ex-husband," Maggie replied with a laugh.

"Oh sorry, you said ex so I assumed…ex-husband. Sorry, my fault. Your ex-boyfriend?" Dean suggested with a slight grin. Sam narrowed his eyes and mouthed the words 'knock it off', causing him to smirk.

Eliot glared at him before explaining, "Maggie is _Nate's_ ex-wife. I love how you assume I am the only criminal she knows and that I _knew_ she was in danger, like I somehow know all this. What else are you assuming? Because I have beat up with a black-eyed demon chick who hated you, not that I blame her, with a hard-on for breaking me open for the candy surprise, I've been to hell…or _somewhere_…and back in the last few hours so I'm ready to beat someone senseless. Since Nate's not here, you want to volunteer, son?"

"Which demon chick? There are so many." Holding out his hand, he counted them off, "Rudy, Meg, Lilith, Casey, a few crossroads demons, those are the ones you have to watch out for, hot," he gestured in front of his chest and raised his eyebrows, "except for the fact they are _demons_ part…I think you get the picture. I know the impotent rage you're feeling but can you not stoop to the barbarian level again? Because I've had it up to here," Dean punctuated the air with his hand, "with your crew. We're trying to help your dumbasses and you keep getting into more trouble. I'm about to have Cas knock you all into a coma until we can find that little blonde minx Parker!"

Eliot stepped forward and Cas walked in between the two of them placing his hand on their chests. "Dean, Parker is in _real_ danger. Eliot was pulled back from the veil. Only an _angel_ or someone more powerful than that could do it and since there is no reason for them to save him for his merits alone, they want something from these people. I think they want Parker."

"What do you mean he was pulled back from the veil?" Sophie's voice rose in alarm as she stood, her hand gripping Eliot's shoulder. "Do you mean he was dead?"

"Not quite…well, yeah, he was dead," Dean admitted with a quick glance at Eliot before mumbling. "Sorry man, I didn't know. I know how death can screw up your day."

"Not worth saving?" Eliot had been glaring at Cas but rolled his eyes. Turning to Sophie, he tried to reassure her. "Don't make a big thing about it. I mean I'm not dead now. Right?" When Cas nodded, Eliot grinned slightly. "See? I'm not dead now."

Sophie hugged Eliot tightly and Hardison interjected, "Not dead _now_? Not. Dead. _**Now**_. Did you come back with your brains intact? Because you're way too calm about the fact you were dead in the _first_ place. And you were killed by a girl? Man, I told you, you got to hit back no matter how pretty they are if they start it or at least put a stop to it. Didn't you learn the last time with the roller derby team? _They_ about killed you. I'm beginning to think you're into that kinky pain shit." Seeing Sophie's expression of annoyance, he threw out, "But seriously, glad to have you back man. Now can we go find Parker or should we group hug?"

When he walked forward, Eliot took a step back from Sophie and him and growled, warning, "Don't."

"Something is wrong." Cas' eyes closed and he took a few steps away from them.

Hardison's mouth dropped open slightly before he waved his hands around in aggravation. "What? Do you feel a disturbance in the force?"

"Dude, give him a minute," Dean said and once again Cas disappeared. He gritted his teeth and yelled at the ceiling, "That's just fucking great Castiel! Thank you for sticking around and helping out!" He stormed out of the room into the kitchen, grabbing a beer from the fridge. He needed a time out, away from people. Hopping onto the counter he leaned his head back against the cabinets and closed his eyes. After awhile he sensed he wasn't alone. "Five minutes. Seriously I need to be away from you people for five minutes."

Silence but the person didn't leave so he opened his eyes and was relieved it was Sophie, not one of the others. She got a glass from the cabinet beside him and poured some scotch from the bottle she had carried in, before looking at him. "We're normally not like this. It's just…unbelievable. I've seen lots of monsters in my life but never like this."

"I'd worry more about anyone who didn't react strangely if angels and demons appeared before you one day," Dean smiled gently. "Don't worry. I'm sure you're very good at what you do."

She watched him, her gaze lingering on his longer than was necessary. Dean didn't know if she was trying to con him or seduce him, which with Sophie could be the same thing. He wasn't sure. Her hand dropped to his thigh causing his eyebrows to rise. "You're very good at what you do, Dean."

She squeezed his thigh, trailing her fingers up the sides of his leg. He smiled and glanced down at her hand as she stepped closer. "Any other time, I would so be on board with this but now probably isn't the best time, Sophie. And I'm not a hundred percent sure this isn't a con. I mean, you're a grifter…"

Sophie moved between his legs and turned her face up to his. "Does that matter that much? I mean, we're both consenting adults here. And I know you want me." Dean started to reply and she smirked. "I _know _you do, Dean."

"I'm not denying that, I'm just saying the timing isn't the best," he answered and nodded towards the other room. "I don't think your friends would approve either. I don't know if this is some game to get back at Nate or…"

Sophie wrapped her hand around his neck and pulled him to her. "Do I look like I'm playing a game?" He held his breath as her tongue ran lightly over his lips. "Live dangerously Dean."

Something seemed off. He hadn't known her long but this seemed very out of character for her. He realized something and tensed, attempting to pull away from her. She gripped his leg tighter and tried to pull him closer again, her fingernails digging into his neck. "Nice American accent, sweetheart. But you're showing your true nature now." The hand around his neck quickly moved to grasping his throat as her eyes flashed black causing his heart dropping in his stomach.

"Good to see you again Dean," the demon chuckled. Tapping his chest where his tattoo was, she added, "I figured since I couldn't get inside you, you could be inside me."


	9. Chapter 8

_A/N - sorry for the long delay_

* * *

Parker felt the demons watching her, following her through the darkness. When she turned to see where they were, they faded into the inky black night. She tried to lose them but they were always there, making her heart race because she knew if they caught her, they'd kill her. She wished she had waited for Castiel to come back or Eliot. But Nate needed this. Even if she knew something was off she'd do this for Nate, ignoring her doubt about what he told her and the worry about the real reason. Someone on her team needed her to do something so she'd do it.

Slowing, she tried to fade into her surroundings, a downtown side alley, but frustratingly the demons kept their pace on her. Parker realized there was no way she could escape them.

"I know you're out there. Just…show yourself already," she called out angrily, not thinking it completely through.

"You're fast, little one," a homeless man said as he walked from behind the dumpster. "We're not going to hurt you…just keeping an eye on you, for your own good."

"For my own good? I'm not an idiot," Parker said walking backwards and keeping her eye on him. "I have holy water with me and other…weapons, so just back off."

"That might sting a bit. But do you have enough for all of us?" An older couple appeared suddenly at the other end of the alley and Parker jerked around. "We're not as old and feeble as we look, I assure you but feel free to test it."

Parker ran and, launching herself off a stack of wooden pallets, grabbed hold of the bottom rung of metal fire escape ladder. She hung from it for a brief moment and it slid down a bit then climbing up. She reached the bottom landing and pulled the stairs back up. The alley was empty. She cautiously climbed all the way to the top, feeling more comfortable the higher she rose. With cat-like grace she ran across the roof, walked out to the very edge and jumped up to the metal bar between the roof and the building next to it. Carefully she crossed over, one hand over another, feeling the familiar thrill of the danger, dangling between two building twenty stories up.

All her hideouts were different and this one had been set up so that no one could access it without knowing where and how to do it. This building was boarded up and had strong metal locks on the doors, almost completely blocked off from the world. Unless someone knew how to break into the building, which was unlikely since the door well-lit from the all-night diner's neon signs, no one could break into an empty building in full sight of a place frequented by police officers every night. There was nothing left to steal here. Someone had even ripped out the copper pipes before Parker found it. It was a beautiful fortress to her but to others it was a reminder of urban decay of Boston's oldest neighborhoods.

Parker peered into the night looking for anything out of the ordinary or signs of pursuit. There were none. She heard a swishing sound beside her and turned, expecting Castiel but instead found another man standing there.

"You must be more careful Parker. You could have…" the man began then held up his hands as if he sensed he invaded her boundaries. "I'm here to help you, to protect you. Come with me." The man didn't move toward her but held out his hand patiently.

"Who are you then and why are you following me? What are you doing here?" Parker walked backward, glancing over her shoulder a few times to make sure no one came up behind her.

"I'm just watching over you. It's not safe for you now."

Parker stopped, cocking her head to the side slightly. "But how do you know that? And I asked who you were. You seem very familiar."

"My name is Lucas. We've never met before. I'm just a…friend. Sometimes I watch over you," the man seemed uncomfortable and avoided her eyes. He was close to Nate's age but something seemed older than that. His eyes, when they finally met hers, were wise and older than his years, like he had seen too many things, and suffered too much. Parker understood that. She hated that she had to be so uneasy about someone who looked like he needed help. Sometimes she forgot how it was to not feel sympathy for people in trouble, forgot what it was like to not be one of the 'good guys'. This was not one of those times. This time she was well aware of the fact that she was going against what she had grown to appreciate: feeling like a good person for helping people. And it hurt.

"Lucas, I don't know what you want but I can't help you…"

The man chuckled softly. "Thank you, dear, but I'm here to help you, not the other way around."

"Who said I needed help? Go away." The man didn't leave so finally Parker added in a frustrated voice, _"Please."_

"Parker, I can't leave you now. They're coming for you. If you call for Castiel, I will go," Lucas insisted. "Just do what you must and I will keep you safe."

"Are you his friend?"

"He's my brother. But friend? No, not exactly. We've never met."

"You've never met your brother?" Parker scrutinized the man closely, unable to resist her curiosity. She knew, couldn't explain how but she _knew_, he was an angel so he should be safe, right?

"Parker, this isn't the time or place to talk about this. We need to go. Please, either call for Castiel or let me help you," the man urged. As soon as the words were out of his mouth he heard the demons arriving on the other building. "Come! Before they see you." Grabbing her hand, he pulled her behind him as he ran into the building.

As soon as the door closed softly, Parker prevented him from going forward. "Wait. Don't move." Disappearing into the blackness again, she walked two steps to the wall and crouched down. The lock was at the bottom of the wall, upside-down, and flush against the wall, so it would be difficult for others to find, especially in the dark. She inserted the key, turned the knob and the lock clicked open. Parker hesitated a moment then said, "Come on," before walking through the door.

After the second door closed behind them and locked, she punched the code into a keypad which turned off the alarm and turned on the lights in the building. This room was still very dim. All of her power was 'borrowed' from another building so the lights weren't much. "We have to walk downstairs to the fifth floor. While we do that, you can tell me who you are."

She opened the door to the stairways with her key and looked at him expectantly.

"You might want to wait until you can sit down for this," the man said evasively and then began walking down the stairs, leaving her standing there. Parker sighed, not liking the sound of that, and followed him.

xOxOx

The demon slung Dean across the room but was straddling him before he could even catch his breath. "You've been messing in our affairs too long. This might hurt a bit."

"Meg?" Dean uttered, noting her familiarity with him, and tried to push her off him.

"Wrong again. I was going to go see my beloved Sam but you just walked right into my trap," the demon laughed. Dean grabbed her fist as she attempted to hit him again and shoved her hard. She might have demon strength but in Sophie's body, she was light enough that she flew onto her back. Jumping up, he looked around the kitchen for something to hit her with.

But it's Sophie. And if he hurt her, he'd not only have a hard time forgiving himself, he'd also probably have a even harder time avoiding getting murdered by Eliot or _at least _a severe beat down.

"Trapped aren't you? You can't damage the package even if you don't like the gift." The demon chuckled, as she rose slowly. "She's a stylish bitch at least. Love these shoes." Next thing he knew, Dean had a nice stiletto jammed into his torso. He stumbled back and she said, "Think they're Jimmy Choo's? Be a doll and don't get any blood on them."

"Are we seriously going to talk about her shoes?" Dean shook his head and gave her a 'wtf?' look. She lunged for him again and he punched her in eye as her nails ripped down his face.

"Damn! I broke a nail," she screamed and stepped back. "Well if you're okay with wrecking this bitch, let's go!" Grabbing his collar with one hand and his belt with the other, Sophie-demon kneed him hard in the stomach and she threw him to the floor. He coughed and tried to catch his breath as he rolled to the side, narrowly missing the kick aimed at his head. He attempted to stand up, but she shoved him back down with a blow to back of his neck, knocking the breathe out of him completely. Before he could recover, she straddled him again. Leaning forward, she pinned his hands to the floor over his head.

"Catch your breath, lover. Then maybe we can negotiate," she purred softly. "I'm totally open to beating you to death but if I can get me some first, I'm open to that too." Suddenly she was pulled backwards off him.

"Sophie, what the hell?" Eliot said before she turned on him, slamming him against the wall. The hitter reacted quickly and grabbed her once again, restraining her as best he could. "Get up damnit," he yelled at Dean.

Dean jumped to his feet and calling for Sam, he helped Eliot wrestle Sophie-demon. She was spitting and cursing at him. As soon as Sam entered the room though, she threw back her head and the familiar black smoke poured out of her. Sophie collapsed into their arms, out cold.

"What did you do to her?" Hardison stood in the doorway. He seemed lost and unsure, like he didn't know _who _to direct his anger at anymore.

"Sam, get protection charms on them now," Dean yelled and let Sophie go as Eliot picked her and carried her into the other room. Nursing his jaw, he grabbed the bottle of scotch and followed the others out of the room. After his brother had given everyone charms, Dean slumped into the chair across from the couch where Eliot had laid her. "I didn't want to hurt her…I mean, Sophie…but I had to or she would have killed me."

Eliot brushed back the hair from Sophie's face and studied her eye. "She'll recover from that. You didn't have a choice. But…"

"Will she die?" Hardison glanced at Sam, sorrow etched in his face. "You said if demons possess humans that they die."

"That's if they possess them for a long period of time or in the case of them damaging the host's body, but she probably will be fine," Sam comforted him.

"Host? A host is someone who invites you to chill at their crib. No dude, she was hijacked." Hardison glared at Sam before returning his gaze to Sophie.

"I'm not going to lie. Her body might be fine but her brain…let's just say she won't forget it so easily. Sophie would have been awake in there."

Maggie cried silently and Eliot sat back on his heels. "We don't have time to worry about that now. I need to get control of this situation because obviously Cas isn't going to be around to heal everyone each time or protect us. Nate's gone, Parker's gone, Maggie was kidnapped, I died, and now Sophie has just been taken for a test drive by a demon. If we don't find a solution to the problem soon then Hardison is probably going to sprout horns and murder us all."

"That's not funny man. I'm freaking out a little bit already."

Dean sat up straight, then leaned forward. "I'm going to have to say something that is going to piss you off but we need to operate as if none of them are coming back. That wasn't Meg in Sophie. I'm pretty sure it was Ruby. There is a full scale assault on us here. We have to find Meg, the real Meg, and kill her. Sam, you and Bobby stay here with them. Eliot and I will find Meg, because she's behind this. And I need to Cas to get his ass back here and help us."

Hardison's phone rang before anyone could say anything, making them all jump. He stared at the number for a moment in surprise. "It's Parker." Mashing a button, he said, "Are you okay? Woman, you got to stop running off on me. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Where? Okay, are you sure about this? It seems like a bad plan. Let me talk to the…okay, okay…But that's not the point."

xOxOx

Walking into the hall out of listening range of the others, Hardison said, "How can you trust him? Angels aren't proving to be all that trustworthy you know."

"Hardison, please I've never asked you to trust me blindly on anything. But I'm asking you now. You don't have to trust him, trust me," Parker said and Hardison could hear the tears in her voice.

"I trust you. You know that. I just, girl, I don't want you to get yourself killed. I can't imagine…and I can't help you," Hardison felt his throat tighten. "I guess you need a higher power to help you now."

The silence on the other end of the phone dragged on until he almost asked if she was still there. Finally she sniffled and said, "Hardison, you've always there for me and I know I can call you if I need something. Even if you can't fix it or do it yourself, I know you will make sure someone can. Eliot might protect me and Sophie help me or even Nate will do something for me. But you always make sure I'm taken care of, even if you don't do it personally. You're never too proud to ask Eliot to help or Sophie and Nate. You're…you always put me first, like no one ever has before. I called you because I knew that no matter what you'd make sure that the others did what you needed them to do. For me."

"You know I'm here for you, momma. And if you think this guy can be trusted, then…I'll get the others to come. Give us about an hour to get there. I might have to shoot someone a little bit but I'll get them there."

"Thanks Hardison. I wouldn't put anyone else in danger if I didn't know this was right. You…well, umm…Lucas…he's…well, I'll explain later after I've gotten used to it." The line clicked and Hardison knew she was gone. He also knew she was terrified but it was a fear born from something emotionally upsetting her, not the danger involved in this. Danger was always a rush to her. She sounded like someone had flipped her world upside down and it would take more than a few demons to do that.

He was more than a little worried what turned her world over.


	10. Chapter 9

"_I've always known there was something wrong with me," Parker muttered, half to herself."But not this much…"_

_Lucas shook his head and said, "Not wrong. Special, unique, but not wrong."_

"_I'm not even completely human." Her eyes grew darker, her voice a monotone, and Lucas' heart sank._

"_Yes you're human. Just…different…"_

"_I'm…part angel. No wonder I'm such a freak. That explains why I am the way I am."_

"_In ancient times, you would be considered a Nephilim. But God commanded that his sons no longer wed the daughters of Men so the original Nephilim died out." Lucas wanted to comfort her but felt if he reached for her, she would bolt. "I was in human form when you were created, so you are not a giant like the ancient children of angels because your body is completely human. But Parker, your soul is…special and it's connected to mine and to other angels. You don't have most of the traits of an angel or if you do, they lie dormant. You will live and die a mortal but demons fear you, they sense your presence and other angels will know you are not completely human. But you have always lived a human life and, therefore, you are more human than anything else." _

_Lucas tried to ignore the guilt nagging at him. "I'm only telling you this so you will understand why angels and demons sense you easier than the others. It's why you dreamed of Castiel. What you are Parker, is so unique that I do not know what angelic qualities you might develop."_

_Parker didn't speak, rocking back and forth slightly and Lucas could feel her shrinking away from him. "You loved my mother? What happened to her?"_

"_I loved your mother more than I should have, more than any angel should love a human. I was willing to sacrifice everything for her, for you. I broke the law. For angels were not to wed the mortal children of God. So I hid from my brothers and your mother never knew who, or what, I was. The two of you were…everything to me. I lost myself into our life together and grew less aware of the danger I put you in. When you were young, one of my brothers found us and he turned on me. He said that loving your mother was a sin and that I had fallen, just like Lucifer, and I had rebelled against God. He condemned your mother to death. I fought to save her, but then Haniel turned his wrath on you. And your mother, she ran to protect you and he killed her." Lucas felt the searing pain again. "And in my agony and rage, I destroyed him, condemning myself to walk the earth forever, never to return to heaven."_

"_Then why did you leave me?" Parker whispered softly. "If you loved my mother and you say you loved me, then why did you leave?"_

"_I was lost, Parker. The grief of losing your mother and killing my brother, realizing I had become exactly as my brother had said, a fallen angel…it almost destroyed me. And I knew if any other angels found you, they might try to destroy you as well, so I erased all memory of us from your mind and I left you with a childless couple. I knew would love and care for you."_

"_But they didn't. They died in a car accident and left me an orphan, a screwed up kid in the foster care system who got bounced around from place to place because no one wanted me. No one! And you took my mother from me; you stole all the happy memories I might have had of that time. Do you know what it's like to not remember feeling **anything** good in your life? To not be able to remember that one moment in time where someone, **anyone**, wanted you? You could have come back for me but you didn't. You left me alone." Parker's voice had risen until she was shouting at him and tears streamed down her face. "I felt dead inside for so long and I'm broken. I'll never be normal. And now I know that it's never going to change. I'll always be a freak because I am not even human!"_

_Parker jumped up and ran up the stairs into the darkness. Lucas followed her, even though he didn't know what he'd say to her when he finally caught up to her. He had destroyed her life and he couldn't undo that._

xoxox

_Castiel felt Parker's anguish until it became a physical ache he was unable to resist. Ignoring the sense he was needed elsewhere, he went to her, finding her curled up in a corner of the top floor room in an abandoned building. He sensed they were not alone so he put his finger to his lips to signal her to remain silent but she shook her head._

"_It's Lucas. He's…he's my father," she whispered, in a voice so detached that it concerned him more than anything else about the situation. "Your brother, I suppose."_

_Castiel turned to find the angel standing in the doorway from the stairs. "Castiel…" the man began before his eyes turned back to Parker. "They want her; the demons want Parker, not just the angel sword. If Meg can possess her, then the demons could tap into any latent power that she has." Lucas turned shamed eyes towards Castiel. "You know what they would do to possess her, what they would do if they could control her."_

_Silence filled the room for a moment before Cas finally spoke, "Leave us. Let me talk to her." With a warning in his eyes, he added, "But do not go far. We have much to speak about."_

_After Lucas had left the room, Cas turned to Parker and crouched down before her. "Are you hurt?"_

_She silently shook her head. Castiel felt he close herself off to him even before she warned him, "I don't want to talk about it. Especially with you. Just leave."_

"_Parker, it's not safe for you to be alone. You need me now."_

"_I don't need anyone. And I don't **want** you around now." She turned away and he realized she didn't trust him anymore. _

_Deciding she needed her space, Castiel went to talk to Lucas. He found the other angel staring into the distance, lost in his thoughts._

"_I didn't want to hurt her. But her friend has made a deal for the sword, he sent her here to get it and if they make that trade, the demons will take Parker too," Lucas explained, his eyes not meeting Castiel's. _

"_What did they offer Nate that he was willing to sacrifice Parker?" Castiel asked warily. He did not know Nate but he thought he genuinely cared for his friends. "Does he know about Parker?"_

"_I don't know. I have been busy watching over Parker and bringing back her friend, the scowling one. I do not think Parker knows what she has or what it can do. Her motives were to help her friend, not to hurt anyone else."_

"_I have to go to the crossroads," Parker said, startling them both. "I can talk to Nate. If I can't, the others can. Just let me get them to the crossroads. He trusts us, more than he trusts outsiders."_

"_Parker…I do not think your friends are prepared for the demons…" Castiel began but Parker shook her head._

"_No, but we have not one, but two angels, with us now. Two angels and three hunters," she insisted. "That has to be more prepared than they imagined. Now, tell me about this sword and then I'm calling my team. Because no matter what, I know I can trust them to protect me. I trust __**them**__. And I want something from you Lucas."_

"_Anything."_

_"I want my memories back. Good, bad, I don't care. I want to remember my childhood before my mother died. I want to remember my mother."_

**xoxox**

Eliot felt Sophie stir beside him and glanced down at her. "Sophie?" he asked and gently smoothed back her hair. The grifter's eyes opened and slowly focused on him as tears fill them. "Hey, it's okay. You're safe now."

"I know what they want and why," she said softly, keeping her voice low so the hunters wouldn't hear her. "They promised Nate they would bring his son back in exchange for the sword."

"But Sam is dead…"

"Something about a crossroads demon…they can bring back the dead." Sophie sat up slowly. "You know he would do anything to bring Sam back, even sacrifice himself."

"Or one of us," Eliot added with a slight nod. "What does this sword do?"

"It's the only thing that can kill an angel. We have to find him Eliot. They want more than the sword and I'm not sure what it is," she said and attempted to sit up. Eliot helped her when she flinched in pain.

"I heard what you said," Maggie whispered, sitting beside Sophie. "Is it true? Can they bring my son back?"

"How do you feel?" Dean asked, startling the women. "Sorry about…well, you know."

"Trying to kill me?" Sophie smirked. "I guess, considering I started it, it's understandable. I feel a bit out of sorts but alive."

"Do you remember anything?" Dean asked and Sophie shook her head quickly with a warning look to Eliot. The hunter studied her for a moment before adding, "I thought maybe we'd moved past this mistrust stage and maybe you'd let us help you finally."

Sophie hesitated before glancing at Eliot. After a moment he nodded and with a deep breath, Sophie told Dean what she knew. "I know what the demons are planning. Nate is going to make a deal with a crossroads demon in exchange for the sword."

"And they'll give him what?"

"His son. They'll bring back his son. But they want more than the sword. Something about a Nephilim or something but I'm not sure if it's a weapon or another demon," Sophie shook her head. "They want it bad though, whatever it is. They say it could help them find purgatory and they will be rewarded by someone named Crowley."

Dean scowled and Sam said, "It figures Crowley is involved. But a Nephilim? Aren't they the giant children of angels that all died out?"

"Is it true? Can they bring Sam back?" Maggie asked Dean, hope filling her eyes.

"Yes, but there is always a great cost involved," Dean said solemnly. "And I'm not sure anyone is willing to pay that cost."

"But he's my son. He's just a child and he shouldn't have died so young. Why not give them this Nephilim, whatever it is, and then deal with the consequences later?" Maggie insisted. "What does it matter if they find purgatory?"

"Do you want all of the souls of purgatory released under a demon's control?" Sam asked, sitting beside Dean. "Not just a demon but the King of Hell. Demons don't do anything that isn't a bigger benefit to them than to whoever they offer the deal to. And your son…he might not come back as he was."

Dean swallowed hard and glanced at Sam for a moment before turning to Maggie. Gently he took her hands in his own. "I know you want your son back. I can understand the temptation and I am certainly not one to judge you, but what are you willing to risk to get him back? Nate? One of his friends? Demons having more power than they already do?"

"I want my son back," Maggie insisted, tears falling down her face. "I don't care about your war. I would sacrifice Nate or myself, anything or anyone, to get our son back. If that makes me a monster then so be it but he's my son and I would sacrifice anything to give him the life he should have had."

"You can't expect her or Nate to resist this." Sophie placed her arm around Maggie and the two women shared a look of understanding. "I don't want to think about what we might sacrifice but I think all of us understand their desire to get their child back."

"Even if it's just for a year or something? What if he comes back 'not right'? Have you thought about that? And if there is a heaven, assume it's much more peaceful than it is here, do you want to rip him from there? He could be peaceful and no longer have any pain from whatever killed him." Dean argued glancing at them all. "Could you willingly destroy his peace to bring him back here to satisfy your guilt or your own selfish needs to have him back? He's not in hell…you wouldn't be rescuing him, you'd be bringing him back here."

The room was silent for a long time before Hardison cleared his throat. "We need to go. Parker called and I know where she is going. I assume Nate is going there too because it's a crossroads. And there's something else…I don't know what but she needs us."

"We need Castiel," Sam insisted and Hardison shook his head.

"He's with Parker."

Eliot stood and pulled Hardison to the side keeping his voice low. "We need to get a handle on this before we go anywhere."

"Dude, Parker needs us. She's in some kind of trouble. I'm sorry about Nate and all but…he's doing his own thing, working his own deals that don't involve us so we have to look out for each other."

"I can't worry about Nate now. But I'm going to keep the rest of you safe. So we do this my way, okay?" Eliot stressed, trying to take charge of the situation. "I'll go get Parker, bring her someplace safe."

"No, we're all going. She asked me to bring everyone so that's what I'm going to do," Hardison crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. "I _promised_ her."

"Let's saddle up then," Dean called out to them. "We'll leave the women with Bobby and the four of us will go."

"I'm going too. If anyone can talk Nate down it's me…or Maggie…" Sophie glanced at Maggie apologetically.

"We're sticking together," Hardison announced, grabbing one of the shotguns. "We're a team."


End file.
